19th Century Large Pounamu Mere with Carved Grooves and Suspension
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A large 19th century mere pounamu, large heavy spatulate shaped with smooth curved surface tapering to a sharp translucent edge. Five concentric grooves carved to the butt and pierced for suspension. The blade is sharp with minor fritting. Carved in Kawakawa variety stone marbled with pale to milky inclusions. Provenance: Ex John Lawford collection purchased from Dunbar Sloane in 2003. Length 36.5 cm.
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- Marbling - A descriptive term for a finish applied to plastic, ceramics, glass, plaster or wood to imitate the colours and characteristic markings of various marble types. For moulded items such as the first three above, the marbling is within the item.
Interiors and furniture were marbled from from the early 17th century to the late Victorian period. The craft was practiced by skilled decorators using a combination of brushes and sponges. Some of the finishes achieved were so realistic as to make it difficult to distinguish the marbled surface from the marble surface.
Marbling is also a term applied to a finish for paper as often seen in the front and endpapers of old books. The marbling is achieved by floating the colours on water and then transferring them to paper. However the marbling finish on paper, as with the marbling finish on plastics, with its multitude of colours has little resemblance to naturally occurring marble.
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