Pair of marble obelisks, Rome, first half of the 20th century

Pair of obelisks Siena yellow marble, Belgium black, black marble apex (probably Marquina), lapis lazuli spheres, gilt bronze applications. 63x14x14 cm. Rome, first half of the 20th century Excellent overall state of preservation Elegant pair of decorative obelisks in polychrome marble, executed in the fine tradition of Roman stonework. The pyramidal shaft is made of Giallo Siena marble, a fine Italian marble characterized by its typical cream-ivory background crossed by vivid ochre, amber, and red-brown veins. The apical tip is made of compact black marble, likely Nero Marquina of Spanish origin or black Belgian marble, which creates a precise crowning chromatic effect. The base is entirely clad in Belgian Black (Noir de Belgique), a deep black limestone marble with characteristic white veining, historically popular in European decorative production between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Inserted between the shaft and base are two spheres of lapis lazuli, the vivid ultramarine blue semiprecious stone, which act as a connecting element and give the whole a note of chromatic preciousness. Each obelisk is embellished with two chiseled gilt bronze applications: a central plaque on the shaft in the form of an oval cartouche within a frame with festoons, trophies and laurel leaves - a typically Neoclassical motif - and a circular medallion with a lion's head in relief on the front of the base, an iconographic reminder of Roman imperial ancestry. The quality of the casting and the care of the chiseling place the bronze mounts in the realm of the best Roman ornamental production of the early 20th century. The work is fully inscribed in the tradition of objets de vitrine of neoclassical taste, which flourished in Rome between the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century, destined for a cultured and wealthy international clientele - aristocrats, collectors and Grand Tour travelers - attracted by the myth of antiquity and the craftsmanship of the Eternal City.