Corsi Collection of Decorative Stones

Class XVI
Granites (Graniti)

Granite is composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, united together by virtue of the force of aggregation without being enveloped by any cement. The most modern geologists class the syenites with the granites, believing the mica to have been substituted by hornblende. We shall therefore place together in this class both the granites, correctly so called, and the syenites. This stone is primitive, and forms the basis of [p202] all the large mountains. It is found in many places, and in all colours.

§ I Ancient granite (Granito antico, Marmor Syenite)

Near the city of Syene (Siene), on the boundary between Egypt and Ethiopia, there is a chain of mountains formed of hard compact stone, without any veins, from which colossi, obelisks, and other large works are constructed, as Pierre Belon 121 , who visited Egypt for the purpose of field research, reports. This stone is the very granite that the ancient authors have called Syenite marble (marmo Sienite) because of the location of the quarry. There are many colours among the ancient granites. No-one has referred to a green granite; black granite is often confused with basalt; red granite on account of its colour has been given the name of Pyrrhopoecilon; the grey is called Psaronion 122 on account of its resemblance to a starling's feathers, which in Greek is psar (ψαρ). Herodotus 123 called it Ethiopian (Æthiopicum) because, as has already been noted, Syene was on the boundary of Ethiopia. [p203] Considering that enormous blocks of granite, bigger than of any other stone, for example the obelisks, the columns of the Pantheon, and those of the Certosa at the baths of Diocletian, were cut in Egypt and transported to Rome it will not be inopportune were I to refer to the method of transportation. The task was to open a canal to carry the water from the Nile right to the place where the blocks was being prepared; there rafts were loaded with stone and by means of the current, arrived at Alexandria, entered the mouth of the Tiber near Ostia, and were unloaded in Rome. This was what Pliny 124 said when reporting the way in which the obelisks of the Circus Maximus and the Campus Martius were transported from Egypt to Rome.

The Certosa at the baths of Diocletian was a Carthusian Monastary. The name, meaning charterhouse is given to houses of this order.

Varieties

813. (203.1) Black ground with large white veins. It is known under the name of granito della Colonna because the small column of S. Prassede is of this type. (Very rare).

[p204]

814. (204.2) Black ground flowered with dark grey. There is a bath in the octagonal courtyard of the Vatican Museum of this stone. (Very rare).

815. (204.3) Grey ground verging on greenish, flowered minutely with black. (Very rare).

816. (204.4) Grey ground with small round markings. Commonly said to be a morviglione. The chapel of S. Gregorio in St Peter's in the Vatican has two very large columns of this stone. (Very rare).

817. (204.5) Another type with large square crystals. Very rare, and perhaps (unique).

818. (204.6) Dark grey ground flowered in a lighter grey with mica in the form of short lines, and some markings of the colour of hyacinth. There is a vase of this stone in the Galleria de' Candelabri of the Vatican Museum no. 1709. (Very rare).

819. (204.7) Grey ground with large crystals of peachy coloured, chatoyant feldspar. (Very rare).

820. (204.8) Grey ground with minute white spots like oolite. (Very rare).

821. (204.9) Deep green ground flowered with lighter green [p205] , and a little white. It is called della sedia because the patterns in the pedestal of the bronze statue of St. Peter in the Vatican Basilica are of this stone. (Rare).

822. (205.10) Another type with a green ground flowered only with white. (Even rarer).

823. (205.11) Green ground veined with rose colour. (Very rare).

824. (205.12) Green ground flowered with grey. Absolutely (unique).

825. (205.13) Plasma green ground flowered with white, and black. In Rome I have not seen it except in a small vase which is in the fourth room of the main building in the Villa Albani. (Very rare).

826. (205.14) Grey ground with small oblong black and white markings. There is a half a column base of this marble in the Galleria de' Candelabri of the Vatican Museum, no.1709. (Very rare).

827. (205.15) Deep green flowered with a lighter green that verges on grey. (Very rare).

828. (205.16) Grass green ground flowered with pea green in reticular form. (Very rare).

[p206]

829. (206.17) Green ground that verges on black, almost monochrome. (Very rare).

830. (206.18) Deep green ground flowered with small spots of a lighter green. (Very rare).

831. (206.19) Dark pinkish red ground lightly flowered with black and lighter red. (Very rare).

832. (206.20) Ground of a richer red flowered profusely with black and reddish white. There is a vase of this stone in the Galleria de' Candelabri no.1393 in the Vatican Museum. (Very rare).

833. (206.21) Dark red ground flowered, and almost covered with black. (Very rare).

834. (206.22) Rose coloured ground with markings in the form of breccie. (Very rare).

835. (206.23) Light red ground with white, and many black markings, and a wide red band. The Egyptian statue that stands at the right in the atrium of the Capitoline Museum is of this type of granite. (Very rare).

836. (206.24) Black ground with white markings, and large crystals of red feldspar. The other statue that stands to the left of the above atrium is of this type. (Very rare).

[p207]

837. (207.25) Black ground with white markings, and large crystals of light red feldspar. The very beautiful fountain basin in the Piazza de Venezia in Rome is of this stone. (Very rare).

838. (207.26) White ground with black markings, and large crystals of peachy coloured feldspar. There are five columns of this granite in the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, and eighteen in the church of S. Costanza near S. Agnese fuori le mura. (Rare).

839. (207.27) White ground with large markings of dark red. The eight exceptional columns in the church of S. Maria degli Angeli at the Baths of Diocletian are of this stone, and also the Aurelian obelisk on the Pincian Hill in Rome. (Common).

840. (207.28) White ground with large markings of light red. Known as granito delle Guglie because the obelisks that are seen in Rome are of this species. (Very common).

841. (207.29) Black ground with white markings, and large crystals of violet coloured feldspar. (Very rare).

[p208]

842. (208.30) Black ground with bands of flowered red. The two lions at the foot of the cordonata di Campidoglio are of this stone. (Very rare).

843. (208.31) Minute mixture of white, and black. (Very rare).

844. (208.32) White ground with small round black markings. There is a column of this stone in the church of S. Prassede, and a large water holder in the museum of the Villa Albani. (Very rare).

845. (208.33) Black ground with white markings that verge on violet. There is an Egyptian idol of this species in the Galleria de' Candelabri, no.1320, in the Vatican Museum. (Very rare).

846. (208.34) Black ground with white stains verging on reddish. The two sphinxes in the room of the porphyry urns of the Vatican Museum, are of this type. (Very rare).

847. (208.35) White ground with small, scattered, black markings. Known as del Foro because all the columns of Trajan's Forum are of this type. In Rome (very common).

848. (208.36) White ground with denser black markings. It is commonly called granitello antico. Many beautiful columns are to be seen of it in the portico of the church of S. Sebastiano fuori le mura. In Rome (very common).

[suppl.p26]

986. (Suppl.26.1) Granito antico. Mixture of black, grey and reddish. Very beautiful and (very rare).

987. (Suppl.26.2) Another, mixture of black and rose colour. Very beautiful and (very rare).

[suppl.p27]

988. (Suppl.27.3) Another, white and black with large crystals of fire-red feldspar. (Rare).

989. (Suppl.27.4) Another, with a black ground with white markings tending to grey. (Very rare).

990. (Suppl.27.5) Another, mixture of grey and deep green. Very rare and (very beautiful).

991. (Suppl.27.6) Another, with a rose-coloured ground marked with black. There is a cup of this species in the Galleria de' Candelabri, Vatican Museum no.1393. Very beautiful and (very rare).

992. (Suppl.27.7) Another, with a deep red ground flowered with black. Very beautiful and (rare).

993. (Suppl.27.8) Another, mixture of pale red, grey, and black. (Very rare).

994. (Suppl.27.9) Another, with a peachy-coloured ground and black spots. Very rare, and perhaps (unique).

995. (Suppl.27.10) Another, minute mixture of various shades of grey. Absolutely (unique).

996. (Suppl.27.11) Another, with a grey ground and short black lines. There are two columns of this species in the portico of the Palazzo Farnese, and a small vase in the Galleria de' Candelabri of the Vatican Museum no.1709. (Very rare).

[p209]

§ II Italian granites (Graniti d' Italia)

Varieties

849. (209.1) Granito delle Alpi. Light green ground with bands of darker green similar to cipollino. (Very rare).

850. (209.2) Granito delle Alpi. Green ground with peachy coloured markings. (Rare).

851. (209.3) Granito delle Alpi. Grey ground with white markings and black spots. (Very rare).

852. (209.4) Granito delle Alpi. Apple green ground with many markings of black mica. (Rare).

853. (209.5) Granito dell'Elba. Light green ground with crystals of quartz amethyst. (Not common).

854. (209.6) Another, with a ground of slightly richer green, and similar crystals. (Not common).

855. (209.7) Granito di Corsica. Black ground flowered [p210] with very small reddish white markings. (Very rare).

856. (210.8) Granito di Siena. White ground with large crystals of violet coloured feldspar. Very beautiful, and very similar to the ancient granite. (Rare).

857. (210.9) Granito di Corsica. Dark grey ground with markings of light grey and black. (Common).

858. (210.10) Granito di Corsica. Black ground with markings of deep red. (Rare).

859. (210.11) Granito di Cumiana in the Piedmont. Chestnut coloured ground with dirty yellowish markings. (Not common).

860. (210.12) Granito delle Alpi. Grey ground that verges on greenish with white markings. (Rare).

861. (210.13) Beola di Milano. Whitish ground, glittering because of the presence of a lot of white mica. Perhaps it is of the nature of micaceous schist. (Common).

In Lombardy, where it is used for roofing, this is known as beola.

862. (210.14) Granito delle Alpi. Light grey ground flowered with dark grey. (Common).

863. (210.15) Granito di Perosa in Piedmont. Light grey ground with markings of grey verging on green. (Not common).

[p211]

864. (211.16) Granito di Corsica. Fire red ground flowered with black. (Rare).

865. (211.17) Granito dell'Elba. Black ground with large crystals of pinkish feldspar. (Rare).

866. (211.18) Granito dell'Elba. Minute mixture of white, grey, and dark pinkish red. (Rare).

867. (211.19) Granito delle Alpi. Black ground with large greenish markings. (Rare).

868. (211.20) Granito delle Alpi. Green ground passing into black, with small markings of a lighter green. (Not common).

869. (211.21) Granito di Corsica. Green ground flowered with rose colour. (Very rare).

870. (211.22) Granito delle Alpi. Dark green ground minutely flowered with pea-green. (Rare).

871. (211.23) Granito delle Alpi. Olive-green ground with a few small black markings. (Rare).

872. (211.24) Granito di Corsica. Bottle-green ground reticulated with white. Beautiful, and (very rare).

[p212]

873. (212.25) Granito di Genova. Green ground with whitish markings, and layers of glittering mica. There are two vases of this type in the Galleria de' Candelabri nos.1570 and 1571, in the Vatican Museum. (Rare).

874. (212.26) Granito orbiculare di Corsica. I shall quote the description of this stone made by Bomare 125 . He says 'We received in 1785 an extremely rare species of puddingstone, very beautiful both in its configuration and in its constituent parts. This puddingstone, that was found in an isolated mass below Olmetto on the island of Corsica, is composed of spheroidal balls, the size of an orange, enclosed in a whitish granitic material. The very same balls, symmetrically placed without touching each other, are composed of circular layers parallel to each other. The exterior layer is of white crystallised quartz, and is more than two lines in thickness; the second layer is more than one line in thickness, and exhibits a number of laminae, or narrow, flat bands of a type of blackish green steatite; the third [p213] layer is of whitish quartz, and of one line in thickness; the fourth is very narrow and of pure steatite; the fifth is of quartz, three lines wide; finally the nodule, or centre, is ten lines in diameter, and shows quartz, or lamellar steatite'.

On the same subject Brard 126 says 'that this beautiful rock, of which it is difficult to give an idea with a mere description, was about two hundred pounds in weight, and it was so different from any other that it was believed that it had fallen from Heaven; it was immediately divided into many pieces, and even the smallest fragments were eagerly investigated. Not long ago M. Matthieu found some large boulders of it on the mountain of S. Lucia, but the globes are smaller, the rings narrower and in colour the tone is more subdued and less bright, indeed often the globes are entirely white and without rings'. It is the globular granite from Corsica called Napoleonite, which should not be confused with orbicular granite. The specimen in the collection is from that of 1785 and is (extremely rare).

[p214]

875. (214.27) Granito delle Alpi. Mixture of violet and black, with numerous small green speckles. Beautiful, and (very rare).

876. (214.28) Granito delle Alpi. Black ground with red and whitish markings. (Rare).

877. (214.29) Granito delle Alpi. Deep green flowered with black. (Rare).

Both nos. 877 and 878 may be examples of Beken-stone from the Eastern Desert of Egypt (see the introduction to basalti antichi).

878. (214.30) Granito delle Alpi. Apple green and almost monochrome. (Very rare).

879. (214.31) Granito delle Alpi. Reddish grey ground with black veins similar to petrified wood. (Rare).

880. (214.32) Granito delle Alpi. Minutely flowered with white, black, and yellow. (Very rare).

881. (214.33) Granito delle Alpi. Black veined with yellowish white. (Rare).

882. (214.34) Granito delle Alpi. Mixture of white, and green with chatoyant crystals of green feldspar. (Very rare).

883. (214.35) Granito delle Alpi. Black ground with red, and greenish, markings. (Rare).

884. (214.36) Granito delle Alpi. Light green ground with a few white, and black markings. (Very rare).

[p215]

885. (215.37) Granito delle Alpi. Dark green ground, and flowered with a light green. Very beautiful and (very rare).

886. (215.38) Granito di Malanggio in Piedmont. Greenish grey ground lightly veined with white, and black. (Rare).

887. (215.39) Granito di Corsica. Deep green ground marked with grass green. (Rare).

888. (215.40) Granito delle Alpi. Deep green ground flowered with white. (Rare).

889. (215.41) Granito delle Alpi. Greenish grey ground with markings of darker green. (Rare).

890. (215.42) Granito delle Alpi. A mixture flowered minutely with white, greenish grey. (Rare).

891. (215.43) Granito delle Alpi. Yellowish ground flowered with dark pinkish red. (Very rare).

892. (215.44) Granito dell'Elba. White ground with black, and grey, markings. (Rare).

893. (215.45) Granito de Beveno in the Milanese area. White ground verging on grey with markings of pale red. (Common).

894. (215.46) Granito di Corsica. Blackish ground with white markings. (Not common).

[p216]

895. (216.47) Granito delle Alpi. White ground flowered minutely with grass green. (Rare).

896. (216.48) Granito delle Alpi. Deep grey ground with many purplish veins. (Very rare).

897. (216.49) Granito di Corsica. Dark ground verging on black with reddish markings. (Not common).

898. (216.50) Granito delle Alpi. Deep grey ground flowered with grey that shades into dirty yellow. (Rare).

899. (216.51) Granito di Napoli. Deep red ground with reticular veins of black. It is thought to have been thrown from Vesuvius. (Very rare).

900. (216.52) Granito di Napoli. White ground partly speckled and partly veined with green. This is also thought to have been thrown out by Vesuvius. (Very rare).

[suppl.p28]

997. (Suppl.28.1) Granito di Firenze. Dark grey ground with markings of lighter grey, and some blackish ones. (Not common).

998. (Suppl.28.2) Granito delle Alpi. Greenish grey ground spotted with black and white. (Not common).

999. (Suppl.28.3) Another, from the same place. Grass green ground with white and blackish markings. (Rare).

1000. (Suppl.28.4) Another, from the same place with a light green ground and white and rose-coloured markings. (Very rare).

End