Italian Alabaster Urns on Pedestals by Rossi, 20th Century
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A pair of Italian alabaster urns on matched pedestals, by Rossi, second half 20th century, each of baluster form, egg and dart Decoration, flanked by scrolling handles, raised on a socle base, each sitting on a matched alabaster pedestal, 71.5 cm high, 53 cm wide (including handles), 157 cm high with pedestal
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- Alabaster - Alabaster is soft natural stone used for statuary, with a similar appearance to marble, but easier to work with. As it is softer than marble, an item made from alabaster can be scratched with a metal object, and an alabaster item does not polish to a high surface gloss like marble.
Alabaster objects can be semi-translucent. Alabaster occurs in a pure white form and also with veining from dirt. Colours vary from white through yellow and pink to brown. The veining is usually green or black but can be multicoloured.
Being semi-translucent, alabaster is often used for the bowls of figural lamps, with the figure itself being either alabaster or marble. - Pedestal - The columns that support many dining tables and most small occasional tables. They are usually turned, though octagonal-shaped pedestals were fashionable during the 1830s and 1840s.
- Egg and Dart Moulding - A decorative element consisting of a row of oval shapes, generally vertical, and spaced with pointed darts or tongues. Originally derives from the architectural decorations of classical antiquity, and the feature can be found on bookcases, mirrors and tables and other furniture imitating the classical style.
- Socle - The short plinth, usually cylindrical, that serves as a pedestal for a sculpture or vase
- Baluster (furniture) - An architectural term for a column in a balustrade or staircase, often defined as a "vase shape". The shape is extensively used in furniture and decorative arts.
In furniture, it is used to describe a chair or table leg turned in that form, or more usually as an inverted baluster, with the bulbous section to the top. Less commonly used to describe a chair back that has the outline of a baluster. A baluster may also be split and applied to the front of a cupboard for ornamentation.
For ceramics and silver items it is often used to describe the shape of the whole item, rather than a part.
In Georgian glassware, the shape is commonly seen in the stem of glasses.
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