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The term Hardstone is unscientific, mostly encountered within decorative arts or archaeology, it has a similar meaning to semi-precious stones, or gemstones. Very hard building stones, such as granite, are not included in the term in this sense, only stones which are fairly hard, and regarded as attractive, with a higher value due to their rarity, colours and appearance, in effect ones which could be used in jewellery. Hardstone inlay, also known as Pietra Dure for artistic purposes, is the inlay of semi-precious stones such as Jade, Agate, Onyx, Rock Crystal, Sard or Carnelian, and a general term for an object made in this way of Pietra Dura. The dimensional inlay techniques for floors, furniture and walls were typically inlaid into a background of marble, as is the case on this wonderful piece.
Agate is a rock formation, consisting of Chalcedony and Quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colours. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of Agate dates back to Ancient Greece in assorted jewellery and in the seal stones of Greek warriors. Use of beads necklaces with pierced and polished agate goes further back to the 3rd millennium BCE in the Indus Valley civilisation. The stone was given its name by Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and naturalist, who discovered the stone along the shoreline of the Dirillo River or Achates ( Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης) in Sicily, sometime between the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.
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Stock Number: 25599
Height: 30 inches
Diameter: 23.45 inches
This rarefied unique piece is subject to availability.
Call directly to secure it:
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 6920 897
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In the UK Online sales of this kind are known as ‘distance selling’. We offer a refund to customers if you’ve told us within 3 days of receiving the goods that you want to cancel. You have another 14 days to return the goods once you’ve told us of your intention. A refund will be issued within 14 days of receiving the goods back in the same condition. Return shipping should be the same level as received with insurance, we recommend using the same shipper at your cost. If needed we will help organise suitable shipping.
We will refund the purchase price, excluding delivery costs and taxes, within 14 days of the safe receipt of items in the same condition as supplied. The liability for any damage incurred during transit will remain with the sender. We recommend that adequate insurance is placed on items when returning them to us.
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We extend these Return terms to our international clients.
We will ship worldwide however the costs vary between countries so please email us for a quote. Depending on the item we will recommend the most suitable method.
Our preferred international shipping methods include fine art shippers Gander and White, Art Logistics, Cadogan Tate for items over £5,000. For Fedex, DHL or UPS shipments we expertly pack in-house in wooden crates or heavy duty cardboard – Suitable for most items under £5000. If you have your own shippers we are very happy to coordinate with them.
All items are sent fully insured at the invoice value.
All items are inclusive of all local taxes but may be subject to additional charges for importation and taxes local to the client. Antiques are zero-rated to the USA, all items ship with the correct paperwork. While we are not liable for these additional charges we do encourage clients to research these prior to purchasing items from us. We will make a full value disclosure, as required by the insurance, on all items sent overseas. This is required to ensure proper insurance cover in sending valuable items.
Where required we will oversee the completion of all export licenses for high-value items. We will also arrange for CITES paperwork for materials of endangered species including ivory, tortoiseshell, stuffed birds etc.
This is dependent on the size and value of the object, all items are checked over and polished before shipping and will generally have wooden crates made. This all takes time so expect 10 – 20 working days for delivery unless the item is small in which case 2-3 days from order.
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All our antiques now also come with an invoice as a Valuation Certificate for insurance purposes.