A pair of spiraled Aswan granito rosso columns, probably Italian, Renaissance or earlier

From a South American Collection.

This rare pair of columns, with its subtle entasis and finely grooved spiraling in a very difficult material to carve, is a testament to the skills of Italian marmorari and, undressed of its capitals and bases, is also an elegant reminder of the supreme design sense inherited from the Ancient world.

Red granite, with its scientific name of Lapis Pyrrhopoecilus, is also known as Sienite, as comes from Siene (now Assouan or Aswan) in Egypt. The Egyptians profusely used it since the First Dynasty, first for small objects but later in architectural and monumental endeavours. Much loved and prized by the Romans, it was used throughout the Empire, mostly for plain polished columns and rarely carved. The Egyptian granite obelisks in Rome reflect this appreciation and led Francesco Belli calling it Granito Rosso delle Guglie.

Henry W. Pullen, underlining its attractiveness for marble amateurs and scholars, writes amusingly that “Granite bears very much the same relation to coloured marbles as the grasses bear to coloured flowers; and just as the advanced Student of Nature will frequently take even more pleasure in examining a spike or panicle than a corolla, so will the traveller, who has learnt to admire the most beautiful specimens of ancient Alabaster of Breccia, turn aside with still greater interest to inspect minutely a column or a slab of Granite” (Handbook of Ancient Roman Marbles, 1894).

Spiraling marble columns are rare but can be seen in a large scale, in Roman Antique locations such as the Bath Gymnsasium in Sardis. A single Roman bigio morato spiralling column, dated from the 6^th century, was sold by Sotheby’s Florence (Salvatore e Francesco Romano. Antiquari a Firenze, 12 October 2009, lot 4, €276,750). The small scale of the present lot suggest possibly a use on a private chapel or a ciborium.