Pair Of 19th-century Orbicular Granite & Walnut Console Tables

Incorporating one of the rarest stones in the world. Two of the few known examples. A rare pair of early 19th-century Italian console tables in figured walnut veneered with Corsican orbicular diorite, also known as napoleonite and corsite. Beyond their exceptional stylised design, these tables feature exceptionally beautiful and rare tops veneered with Corsican orbicular diorite, a stone with remarkably fine patterns and among the rarest in the world. Each is adorned with a line inlay  of Imperial Egyptian Porphyry. This exceptional stone possesses a unique appearance due to its concentric spheroidal structures, called "orbicules," formed by nucleation around a grain in a cooling magma chamber. This magnificent stone comes from a quarry near Olmeto in Corsica, discovered in 1785 and exploited from the early 19th century. It was Emperor Napoleon's favorite stone and was considered the prerogative of the imperial family.