A pair of Italian black marble spiraled columns, 16th/17th century

This beautiful pair of columns, with their subtle entasis and finely grooved spiraling, combined with the striking choice of intense black marble (Belgium Black marble), stands as a testament to the skill of Italian marmorari. When viewed without their capitals and bases, they also serve as an elegant reminder of the supreme design sense inherited from the Ancient world.

Historically, black marble was used very sparingly in ancient Rome, primarily as Nero Antico quarried in North Africa, though this marble is known to have inclusions and white striations. In modern times, however, the most famous black marble is the Belgian Black, sourced from the Namur region, and highly rated due to its uniformity and depth of colour when polished, as seen in the present lot. This marble, introduced to Florence in the late 16^th century and known locally as Paragone di Fiandra, played a central role in the inlaid work of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Its significance is highlighted by the gift of four columns made of this stone that Henry IV of France sent to Ferdinand I de' Medici in 1584. A superb example of this marble’s sculptural qualities is a pair of amphorae commissioned in 1638 by Prince Marcantonio Borghese from Silvio Calci, made from a model by Algardi (Galleria Borghese, inv. CCXIX).

Spiraling marble columns are particularly rare because of the difficulty of their execution. Large-scale examples can be seen in Roman antique locations such as the Bath Gymnasium in Sardis. A single Roman bigio morato spiraling column, dated to the 6^th century, was sold by Sotheby's Florence (Salvatore e Francesco Romano. Antiquari a Firenze, 12 October 2009, lot 4, €276,750) and a pair of Aswan granite examples were sold in these rooms (STONE II, 11^th December 2020, lot 37)

Most importantly, a set of four spiraled black marble columns of similar size and profile dominate the Loggia d’Onore at the Palazzo del Quirinale, which has served consecutively as a Papal residence, a Royal seat, and is now the main official residence of the President of the Italian Republic.