LATE 18TH CENTURY

This is a typical example of granito bianco e nero, a stone worked from the first century AD. The quarries were near a fort called Tiberiane, for which reason the stone came to be known as Tiberianum. It is from the Precambrian basement rocks of Wadi Barud.
The apparent pair to the present lot, was sold from the Collection of the late Christabel, Lady Aberconway; Christie's, London, 15 June 1995, lot 1.
Louis-Benjamin Fleuriau de Bellevue (1761-1852) was a noted French geologist and scientist whose collections eventually formed part of the foundation for the Museum of Natural History at La Rochelle.