Pair of Grand Tour Columns in Porphyry, Breche and Alabaster

A pair of 1800s specimen marble grand tour columns.

A sensational and extremely decorative pair of Italian 19th century Neo-Classical st. marble and porphyry columns. Each column has a square Vert Antico base below the mottled white Carrara and Sienna marble plinth. Each central solid red porphyry column is decorated by a white Carrara marble circular mottled base and capital. At the top of each column is an elegant ornamental green porphyr urn. Porphyry was Imperial Rome’s most prestigious stone for columns, vases, and other objects. The word “porphyry” comes from the Latin word for purple, which was the color of nobility to the Romans. Porphyry is considered the Imperial Stone of the Roman Empire. In the year 18 AD, the Roman Legionaire Caius Cominius discovered a beautiful purple stone in the eastern desert of Egypt. It was a deep purple color with flecks of larger white crystals and was perfect for carving. This porphyry quickly became the most prestigious stone for the elite of Rome and Byzantium. For centuries the Romans quarried this treasured stone...