Talk:Scagliola

Latest comment: 11 years ago by 86.149.239.244 in topic Syon House columns

"Another technique involves trowelling on several layers of translucent renders and randomly cutting back to a previous layer to achieve colour differential similar to hewn marble."

This sounds like sgraffito, used to create polychromatic murals employing a similar technique. Fine examples can be seen in the Gold Ballroom of the DuPont Hotel in Wilmington, Delaware.

Syon House columns

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There seems to be some confusion about the columns of the Ante Room at Syon House. I visited the house today and got the official guidebook, which says 'the columns are veneered with verd-antique scagliola, obtained by James Adam in Rome in 1765' (the Adam brothers worked on Syon from 1762 to 1769). I examined the columns closely myself, and they are certainly veneered (rather than solid uniform stone of some kind), as the joins in the veneer are visible. But verd-antique is not a type of scagliola, but a natural brecciated stone. Scagliola could no doubt be made in imitation of verd-antique, and perhaps this is what the guide-book means. But the present Wiki article on Scagliola is contradictory: in one place it says the veneer on the columns is scagliola made by Italian plaster-workers, while further down the page it says the veneer is marble. This would be a further confusion, as (genuine stone) verd-antique is a serpentine and not a marble in the strict sense (though I think in the stone trade any stone that takes a good polish is often described as marble.) Can anyone clear up the confusion and provide an authoritative source?86.149.239.244 (talk) 18:36, 5 June 2013 (UTC)Reply