Historic Spartan Basalt Cut and Polished Dark Green Porphyry Slab

17 1/4 in. (9.82 kg total, 44 cm including stand).

Cut and polished section, mined in Greece, cut and polished on one side, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times; mounted on a custom-made metal display stand.

Provenance

Acquired on the UK art market since the 1990s.
From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman.

Footnotes

Also known as Lapis Lacedaemonius and Porfido Verde Antico, a type of green porphyry quarried in Greece. Spartan basalt is a form of andesite or volcanic rock known today only from a single source in the village of Krokees on the Peloponnese in Greece. In addition, ancient sources mention a quarry of Lapis Lacedaemonius in Taygetus.

CONDITION

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LOT 0398