Corsi Collection of Decorative Stones

Credits and acknowledgements

The Corsi Collection website was written by Monica T. Price. Corsi’s Catalogo Ragionato was translated into English by Lisa Cooke, with a commentary by Lisa Cooke and Monica T. Price. The prefaces were translated by the late Mary W. Porter.

The Corsi website was designed and created by the Web Design Consultancy at Oxford University Computing Services, with assistance from Sarah Phibbs (Museum IT Manager) and Lindsay Percival (Project Assistant).

We are very grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for a generous grant which has enabled us to create this website.

A large number of people have generously shared their expertise, and we would especially like to thank Lisa Cooke, Professor James Harrell (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Ohio), Professor Lorenzo Lazzarini (Dipartimento di Storia dell'Architettura, IUAV University, Venice), and Ian MacDonald (McMarmilloyd Ltd).

Geological descriptions of the stones were contributed by Dr David Bell, Professor Jim Kennedy, Monica T. Price, and other geologists of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford: Professor Martin Brasier, Paul Jeffery, Professor Hugh Jenkyns, Phil Powell, Kevin Walsh and Dr Dave Waters. We are grateful to our colleagues for their assistance.

Monica Price’s early research on Corsi’s collection was made possible with a Jerwood Cataloguing Grant. She is very grateful to the following who have given her access to collections of decorative stones and to their own specialist knowledge:

  • Dario del Bufalo (private collections)
  • Brian Jackson (National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh)
  • The Trustees and staff of Chatsworth House (Chatsworth House, Derbyshire)
  • Clare Jones and Barry Chandler (Torquay Museum)
  • Steve Laurie (formerly in the Sedgwick Museum, University of Cambridge)
  • Brian Lloyd (private collection, Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd)
  • Dr Bénédicte Magnin (Musée du Marbre, Bagnères-de-Bigorre)
  • Dr Phil Manning (formerly in the Yorkshire Museum, York)
  • Dr Maurizio Mariottini (Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, Rome)
  • Patrick Rogers (Westminster Cathedral)
  • The late Dr Robert Seemann (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna)
  • Dr David Smith (Natural History Museum, London)

Dr Trevor Ford (University of Leicester), Dr Jim Riewerts, and Ian Thomas (National Stone Centre), all kindly provided information about the Derbyshire specimens in Corsi’s collection.

Imaging of the stones and the Catalogo ragionato for this website was carried out by Sarah Beggs and Lindsay Percival with assistance from Jean Allen, Jo Corp and Monica T. Price

The Corsi website was launched in May 2012 and is updated from time to time.