Antique French Ormolu & Marble Double Encrier Inkstand Standish 19th C

Ormolu - Gilt Bronze (from French 'or moulu', signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-carat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze.The mercury is driven off in a kiln leaving behind a gold-coloured veneer known as 'gilt bronze'.

The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object.

Serpentine Marble / Verde Antico

Serpentine is a major rock forming mineral and is found as a constituent in many metamorphic and weathered igneous rocks. Serpentine’s structure is composed of layers of silicate tetrahedrons linked into sheets; this structure is what gives it its high flexural strength rating.

Verde Antico is the commercial name for the serpentine “marble” derived from highly sheared ultramafic rocks that have been rewelded and metasomatized by the process of serpentinization.  These ultramafic bodies are now recognized as segments of ancient oceanic crust that became part of the eastern North American continent during the Taconian orogeny. This is considered to be middle Ordovician in age, around 450 million years ago.

More deformation and metamorphism took place during the Acadian orogeny around 360 million years ago.