Hand-carved in Italy during the 1900’s, this small marble lobed basin would make a great vide-poche. A vide-poche (literally “empty pocket”) is a small storage bowl for everyday items, such as car keys, loose change, wallets, etc.
A marble basin of this size might have originally been used in a Catholic church as a holy water vessel. The gadrooned lobes carved along the outside give the appearance of a stylized scalloped shell. On the back of the shell is an excavated block of marble, which is how the basin would have been affixed to a wall. The beautiful beige colored marble with burgundy inclusions and white veining has been carved with a quarter round molding along the rim. A versatile item, our small Italian marble shell basin...
Category
20th Century Italian Knife Boxes