The term ‘marble’ in eighteenth-century encyclopaedic literature: from colourful and exclusive to grainy and popular

IF 0.3 3区 艺术学 0 ART Sculpture Journal Pub Date : 2021-11-01 DOI:10.3828/sj.2021.30.2.8
Margreta Sonnenwald
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Abstract

This article reports on findings concerning the use and understanding of marble in the eighteenth century, as uncovered by a team of geologists and conservators at the Department of Engineering Technology at the Technical University of Munich. While researching a group of marble objects in Bayreuth in order to devise suitable conservation methods, it became apparent that the eighteenth-century understanding of ‘marble’ was different to how we define the stone today. This earlier definition of marble was based on colour, pattern and the ability to shine when polished. However, by the end of the eighteenth century, there was a shift to a focus on the different grain sizes of the stones, while the previously defining quality of colour became less important. Such developments advanced towards the recognition of limestone and marble as two different types, enabling the distinction between sedimentary limestone and its metamorphic product marble to be drawn in the first half of the nineteenth century. At the same time, the exploration of local sources caused the exclusivity of marble to dwindle. Once a building and decorative material for the elite, it now became more widely available. Marble was still the material of sovereigns - proudly presented as locally found - but it simultaneously became accessible to a wider market for household utensils or collectors’ items. This is demonstrated through the exploration of a range of German sources, including encyclopaedias and lexicons with their inherent aim of accumulating the universal knowledge of their time, a ‘marble’ compendium, and a description of the prison and workhouse in St Georgen in Bayreuth, which had marble works on its premises.
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18世纪百科全书文献中的“大理石”一词:从色彩缤纷的、独特的到颗粒状的、流行的
这篇文章报道了慕尼黑工业大学工程技术系的地质学家和保护人员团队发现的关于18世纪大理石的使用和理解的发现。在研究拜罗伊特的一组大理石物品以制定合适的保护方法时,很明显,18世纪对“大理石”的理解与我们今天对大理石的定义不同。早期对大理石的定义是基于颜色、图案和抛光时的发光能力。然而,到了18世纪末,人们开始关注石头的不同粒度,而之前定义的颜色质量变得不那么重要了。这种发展使人们认识到石灰岩和大理石是两种不同的类型,从而在19世纪上半叶对沉积石灰岩及其变质产物大理石进行了区分。与此同时,对当地资源的探索导致大理石的排他性减少。它曾经是精英阶层的建筑和装饰材料,现在变得更加广泛。大理石仍然是君主的材料——自豪地以当地发现的形式呈现——但同时它也进入了更广泛的家用器具或收藏家物品市场。这一点通过对一系列德国资料的探索得到了证明,其中包括百科全书和词典,其固有目的是积累当时的普遍知识,一本“大理石”简编,以及对拜罗伊特圣乔治监狱和济贫院的描述,该监狱和济济院的建筑内有大理石作品。
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CiteScore
0.10
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发文量
32
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