Pair Of Ashford Black Marble & Pietra Dura Inlaid

Fine pair of mid 19th.c. English Ashford black marble obelisks (from Ashford-in-the-Water in Derbyshire) decorated with Pietra Dura inlays c.1860. Standing 18" tall (a little taller than many), of classical Egyptian tapering form with pyramid tops, raised on square bases and stepped plinths. Decorated on the front with designs of white flowers with green leaves created by inlaying coloured stones and minerals into the polished black ground (actually a bitumen rich limestone rather than a true marble). Note also the particularly fine rose and lilly of the valley designs on the bases. Presented as found with minor wear and small chips to both obelisks plus an obvious repair across the corner of the stepped plinth of one.