Pair of 19th Century Marble Black Urns on a stepped pedestal base with a hand made parchment shade, the shade has detail in gilt painted along the top and bottom of the shaped shade, the lamp is newly rewired. Total Height:24" to top of finial, width of shade:12" Height of shade:9 3/4" height from bottom of lamp to shade: 12.5" 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 of the decorative arts also. 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, however the Romans were avid users of colored materials in sculpture and in the decorative arts. This pair Black Marble Urns are of nice proportion and style to adorn any decor. LifestyleAntiques.com is the web site where one can shop on line or if you are in the area we are an antique dealer in Summerland, California just 3 minutes south of Santa Barbara. Specializing in European Antique Furniture and our accent is antique lighting for your home, or office with handmade parchment shades adorning the selection of unique lamps. We specialize in Decorative Arts and French furniture as well as antique furniture from Spain and Italy, you will find the shop warm and inviting.

Antique Lamps and Lighting
Antique Table & Desk Lamps