Furniture & Works of Art - 7th October 2014
Lot 484
A 19th century Italian carved white marble column
Estimate £1,500 - £2,500 | Hammer £700
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Description
A 19th century Italian carved white marble column, with a detachable acanthus carved capital to a spiral twist stem inlaid with Cosmati work to a square stepped plinth base, 208cm high, 31.8cm square.
Cosmati work is a decorative work of marble with inlays of coloured stones, mosaics, glass and gilding. It was much used in Italian Romaneque buildings especially in Rome, in the 12th / 13th centuries, see the columns in the cloister of San Paolo fuori le mura. Roman marble workers of this period were known collectively as the Cosmati from the name Cosma which recurs in several families of marble workers.