As part of our History of Natural Stone series, a universal symbol of luxury. Marble has an almost mystical stylistic malleability. It floats through historical time periods, in architecture and art, and has deep ties to religion.
A Stone of Water and Light
From ancient times up until the Enlightenment, people believed in the Great Chain of Being: the connectedness of all things in the universe, from gods and deities down to minerals. These connections were ‘established mainly on the basis of physical and visual qualities.’
Even post-Enlightenment, with scientific understandings that could have threatened the poetic view of marble, its primacy in art and design has prevailed. Even if sub-consciously, we continue to see marble as our ancestors did: ‘the divine on earth, the spiritual sphere as physical substance.’
Marmor comes from the Greek verb marmairein, meaning ‘to glisten.’
Its Sanskrit root, mar-mar, indicates the lapping of waves. The Greeks and Romans believed that marble was of watery origin, constantly ‘sweated out’ by mountains.
Historical Contestation:
The Nazareth Inscription
The history of marble is rich, full of historical contestation and politics. This enduring complexity is proof of its value.
Take the Nazareth Inscription: a marble tablet from the first century AD, inscribed in Ancient Greek with a decree imposing the death penalty for tomb desecration.
Hot debate has surrounded this marble artefact, mostly concerning its origins and religious meaning, whether it was Emperor Claudius addressing early Christian proclamations of Jesus’ resurrection, or Emperor Augustus reacting to a specific tomb desecration in Kos.
There was even speculation about whether it was a nineteenth-century forgery. An isotopic analysis in 2020 found that the Nazareth Inscription was most likely produced by order of Augustus in reaction to a specific incident.
The Golden Age of Marble
The use of marble in ancient history can be seen as its Golden Age. It then had a significant revival in the Renaissance. Its softness relative to other stone types allowed for the intricacy and emotive detail in sculptures that we revere to this day: Michelangelo’s David, or Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, from the Baroque period.
Pentelic Marble
The Parthenon in Athens is built with Pentelic marble, or at least the superstructure, columns, and sculptures are. Quarried from Mount Pentelicus, this pure white marble contains traces of iron oxide.
Parian Marble
Nike of Samothrace, or Winged Victory, is a masterpiece from around 190 BC, sculpted from Parian marble. The sculptor is unknown but was likely Rhodian. The work was discovered in 1863 by French archaeologist Charles Champoiseau on the island of Samothrace.
Carrara Marble
In Rome, you may think of Trajan’s Column, sculpted with Carrara marble, or the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta, also sculpted from Carrara, by an unknown artist likely Greek and working in Rome during the first century AD.
Marble in the Contemporary Home
That same softness which let ancient sculptors carve into marble is what makes it such enduring in Australian interiors today. While it softer to work with, the natural patina that forms allows interiors to feel lived in, yet elevated.
This quietly luxurious stone only gets more beautiful with use, perfect for kitchen benchtops, bathroom vanities, feature walls, flooring, fireplaces and statement interiors.
Over time, marble softly etches with use. These etchings reflect the rhythms of daily life. Our use of marble throughout human history can be traced through our physical treatment and placement of it. That our touch is reflected back to us through marble points to a deeper concept: the urge of humankind to make our mark. To show that we were here.
View our full marble range online and come visit a showroom in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane.
Sources
Aymonino, A. (2021). Vein glorious: a vast overview of the history of marble in architecture shimmers with detail. [Review of Painting in Stone: Architecture and the Poetics of Marble from Antiquity to the Enlightenment, by F. Barry]. Apollo, 193(694), 78–79.
Harper, K., McCormick, M., Hamilton, M., Peiffert, C., Michels, R., & Engel, M. (2020). Establishing the provenance of the Nazareth Inscription: Using stable isotopes to resolve a historic controversy and trace ancient marble production. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 30.
