Pair Antique Pietra Dura Marble Specimen Stone Desk Obelisks Derbyshire 1840

A fine & large antique black marble & specimen stone desk obelisk & thermometer, Ashford Derbyshire, circa 1860. This large 14.75" obelisk is made of Derbyshire black marble. The obelisk is very elegantly inlaid with a variety of semi-precious polished hard-stone, including Derbyshire Blue John, lapis lazuli, malachite, Carrara marble, polished agate etc. The top of the obelisk is inlaid with colored stone in a floral design, below is a mercury thermometer with the name "J, Turner Buxton", the thermometer is fully functioning, the base is also inlaid with colored stone in a floral design, the obelisk is raised on a stepped base. Condition is very good, no damage or restoration, this very elegant obelisk is ready to grace your home or office. Ashford Black Marble is the name given to a dark limestone, quarried from mines near Ashford-in-the-Water, in Derbyshire, England. Once cut, turned and polished, its shiny black surface is highly decorative. Ashford Black Marble is a very fine-grained sedimentary rock and is not a true marble in the geological sense. It can be cut and inlaid with other decorative stones and minerals, using a technique known as Pietra Dura. The mineral has been used decoratively since prehistoric times; the first recorded customer was the Elizabethan Countess, Bess of Hardwick...

Antique German Baroque dome top painted walnut sea chest, dated 1784. The chest having a hinged dome top with iron strapping, the interior of the lid having hand-forged strap hinges and original hand-forged iron lock...