| P number: | P576222 |
|---|---|
| Caption: | Marble specimen. Verdi Prato. Figline Quarries, near Prato, Tuscany. |
| Description: |
Label name: Verdi Prato. Alternative name: Verde di Prato. Specimen description: Mottled dark-lighter green with white veins. Text from: Watson, J. British and foreign marbles and other ornamental stones. Cambridge : University Press, 1916. 792 VERDE DI PRATO. Figline Quarries, near Prato, Tuscany. This is a good example of a Tuscan Serpentine. It has a dull green ground-mass, with irregular mottled markings, which are also green, but of a lighter shade. A few white veins are also present. The quarries, which are situated close to the village of Figline, near Prato, a small town about eleven miles north-west of Florence, have been in operation for many centuries. The stone can only be obtained in small blocks, it is therefore not suitable for columns, but has been extensively employed for panelling. Several instances of its use may be seen in Florence. It is especially to be noticed in the Cathedral, which was founded in 1298, and ornamented with marble in about the fourteenth century. The campanile, built by Giotto in 1334-36, and the beautiful facade of the Church of St Maria Novella, erected in 1456, are other examples of its use. In these buildings it has been employed chiefly for external construction and decorartion, usually with alternating courses of white Carrara Marble and red stone. Unfortunately the Verde di Prato has suffered from decay, especially in the Cathedral, necessitating constant repair, a fact which proves that it is not suitable for external work even in the clear Italian atmosphere. It has, however, been used for internal decoration with satisfactory results, for instance in the lining of the back of the reredos of St Paul's Cathedral, London (1888), and in the new portion of the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square (1910). The altar of All Souls' Roman Catholic Church, Peterborough, was decorated with it in 1912. In Italy its principal use at the present day is for making pedestals for statuary. |
| Date taken: | Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT 2004 |
| Photographer: | McIntyre, B.M. |
| Copyright statement: | NERC |
| Additional information: | The marble is from the Walter Brown Collection, Scottish Mineral and Lapidary Club. |
| Orientation: | Square |
| Size: | 238.86 KB; 1000 x 1000 pixels; 85 x 85 mm (print at 300 DPI); 265 x 265 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Average Rating: | Not yet rated |
| Categories: | Unsorted Images |
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