« Lumachella » marble basin - Italy - 17th century

This important basin was made in Italy in the 17th century. It is made of an antique marble called "lumachella". This category of marble is characterized by the presence of fossil organisms accumulated by sedimentation. Their aspect having the appearance of multiple snails, this rock is called "lumachella", diminutive of lumaca (snail in Italian). This type of marble has been used since antiquity, and experienced a new surge in popularity in the 17th century, prompting artists to re-use fragments extracted from quarries a few dozen centuries earlier. Our basin is itself the result of this production process, offering a material that is both high quality and original.

Admirable for its size and state of preservation, this basin is composed of three parts. The triangular base supports a baluster shaft, a reference form in the decorative arts of the Renaissance, on which rests a receptacle, disunited from the base and its shaft. The inside of the basin shows signs of erosion of the marble, due to the water it contained and its original use as a decorative object for the exterior.