AN ITALIAN PIETRA DURA AND CAST-IRON GUERIDON

The geometric design of this specimen marble top and method of arrangement is closely related to the work of Francesco Sibilio, a pietra dura craftsman active in Rome during the first half of the 19th century. There are very few recorded examples of his work. One example is in the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert museum (see The Gilbert Collection Hardstones, V & A publications, p. 89-90). He is known to have incorporated ancient materials from contemporaneous excavations and used vitreous coloured grouts to enrich his geometric inspired designs.