Large Louis XIV Console In Violet Breche Marble

Exceptional Louis XIV style console in violet breccia marble, 19th century period in good condition. La Brèche Violette is mined in the town of Serravezza, near Carrara in Italy. It is a very heterogeneous breccia composed of fragments ranging from white to dark purple through pink and bound together by a purple cement. The Brèche Violette is very close to the Brèche de Serravezza whose cement is gray and not purple. The Brèche Violette is found in the same deposit as the Fleur de Pêcher marble. In his Dictionnaire du commerce et de l'industrie, Blanqui describes the Brèche Violette: "This marble which is frequently used in the most beautiful churches in Italy, and of which there are several tables and columns in the galleries of the Museum of Louvre, is of the richest effect for monumental architecture. The quarries that supply it are a few miles from Serravezza, and are in the municipality of Stazzema. When the fragments which compose the violet breach are large, that is to say, when the lilac, pink and white spots are large, this marble can only be used with advantage for monumental architecture; but when, on the contrary, the stains are small and equally scattered throughout the mass, then one can make the most of them and make fireplaces and furniture of great luxury”. The fireplace in the Salon des Jeux at the Château de Versailles was made from a Violet Breche, as was the fireplace in the Cabinet de la Pendule in Versailles. The Opéra Garnier in Paris is also decorated with Brèche Violette. For more information, do not hesitate to contact us at 06.12.77.79.21 or by email quilichini.ludovic@icloud.com