Fine ‘Matched’ Pair of Late C19th Italian ‘Grand Tour’ Souvenir Serpentine Marble Inkstands Each Mounted with Carved Lava Cameo Profiles .

Fine ‘matched’ pair of late C19th Italian ‘Grand Tour’ souvenir serpentine marble inkstands mounted with carved lava cameo profiles.

Pair of circular carved ‘Prato verde’ or ‘serpentina moschinata’ marble , lidded inkstands each mounted with seven finely-carved oval coloured specimen lava cameo profiles of Italian poets and philosophers each with a patinated brass frame surround. The lids each with a turned circular knop handle . The bases each with gadrooned carving ,and the interiors each fitted with varying configurations of gilded brass and glass inkwells and quill-holders .

One inkstand mounted on the underside of the lid with a finely executed gouache watercolour classical scene depicting the ‘Baths of Caracalla’ in Ancient Rome , with a gilt-brass frame surround.

Probably produced in Naples last quarter of the nineteenth century. The lava specimens almost certainly gleaned from the area of Mount Vesuvius and it’s volcanic activity, the colours of the lava created by the crystallisation and oxidation of the various mineral samples from the lava flow.

The green marble of Prato is a metamorphic rock belonging to the Apennine Serpentinite rocks , typical of the Prato area . It was historically quarried near the medieval village of Figline in the foothills of the Apennines.

Both examples in excellent original condition with minor wear to the carved lava cameo profiles commensurate with age , use and purpose.

Minor variance in diameter and the details of the line-carving to the lids . A rare ‘matched’ near pair of inkstands to provide symmetry to an interior scheme.

This type of high-quality inkstand were produced in the Neapolitan area of Italy to sell to wealthy tourists as souvenirs when completing the European ‘Grand Tour’ of the classical sights and sites .

H 4.5 “

Diameter 6” and 5.75 “

Italy ,Naples c.1870

* a comparable matched pair of inkstands sold Christie’s London 20/09/2007 Lot No . 110 “Property of the Counts of Cao Di San Marco” €8650 (approximately £7350 ) .

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