Decorative Antique Pair of White Marble Cherub Plaques that would adorn any wall either outside or inside as decorative objects. Diameter: 27" Depth: 5" The word "marble" derives from the Greek marmaros, "shining stone" Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite (a crystalline form of ). It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications. Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of very pure limestones. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone. White marbles, like Carrara, have been prized for sculpture since classical times such as this sculpture of Julius Caesar. This preference has to do with the softness and relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Also, the low index of refraction of calcite allows light to penetrate several millimeters into the stone before being scattered out, resulting in the characteristic "waxy" look which gives "life" to marble sculptures of the human body. The early history of Marble from the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean basin provided access to colored stones: yellow marble (giallo antico) from Tunisia, purple and white marble (pavonazzetto) from Turkey, and red, green, and black marbles from Greece. Egypt was the richest source of color, providing red, gray, and black granite, basalts and sedimentary stones, and even black volcanic glass (obsidian). Sardonyx was imported from as far as India. With the rich colors the Romans were the first to use marble in slabs, as a wall application. This is because it was the Romans who invented cement, which was needed to hold the marble tiles in place. Henceforth, marble laboriously cut out of a quarry went much farther that when being used in solid blocks. The city of Rome was redone with marble, to become the most beautiful city in the known world. Most visitors to museums are used to seeing Roman sculpture in white marble. Since the Renaissance, white marble has been a preferred material for carving, and until recently ancient sculpture was often deliberately cleaned with dilute acid or the original painted decoration has been lost through natural processes. Surprisingly, however, the Romans were avid users of colored materials in sculpture. This pair of Round White Marble Plaques with the images of cherubs with a great deal of detail in the arrows with the borders in an architectural egg and dart and mounted in a metal frame for hanging purposes.

Antique Garden & Architectural
Antique Marble