Talk:Scagliola

Architecture Mid‑importance

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"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

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]