Ornamental stones of the Napoleon tombstone (Paris): art, geology, and geography

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu07.2017.102

Abstract

Sarcophagus of Napoleon, a crypt and all inside volume of the Hôtel des Invalides are richly decorated by architect L. Visconti with natural ornamental stones from France, Italy and Russia. The authors name them, give their description, list quarries. The sarcophagus is cut of Proterozoic quartzite from Russia. Balustrade, gallery and sculptures in crypt are made of Carrara marble. White-black marble breccias «Marble Grand Antique» and green ophicalcite («Brèche Napoléon») are applied to construct other tombs and columns in the altar, and color limestone and marbles from different places of France (Pyrenees, Alps, Languedoc, and North France) are also used. Quartzite was quarried at the Onega Lake in Russia by J. F. Bujatti. In Paris, first time in the history of techniques, details of the sarcophagus of Napoleon were cut and polished with use of steam machinery. Refs 11. Figs 7.

Keywords:

sarcophagus of Napoleon, Hôtel des Invalides, Shoksha quartzite

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References

Литература

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References

Bulakh A. G. Russkii porfir v Parizhe i shvedskii v Peterburge. Mify i real’nost’ [Russian porphyry in Paris and Sweden ones in St. Petersburg: myths and realities]. J. St. Petersburg University, 2015, vol. 28, no. 1 (3886), pp. 36–39. (In Russian)

Bulakh A. G. “…Ot vazy granitnoi do dveri dvortsa…” El’fdalenskaia porfirovaia manufakutra i ee izdeliia v Peterburge [“…From the granite vase to a door of the Palace…”. The Aelvadelen porphyry manufacture and its products in St. Petersburg]. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Univ. Press, 2016. 82 p. Available at: http://minsoc.ru/FilesBase/Bulakh2015.pdf (accessed: 16.12.2016) (In Russian)

Bulakh A. G. “Porphyries” from Russia and Sweden used in St. Petersburg and Russian “porphyry” used in Paris: misuse of a geological terms for some possible candidate as a Global Heritage Stone Resource. Episodes. J. of Intern. Geosciences, 2015, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 114–117.

Leouzon le Duc L. Le sarcophage de Napoléon en son tombeau des Invalides. Paris, 1873. Available at: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k114587g (accessed: 16.12.2016).

Noël P. Les carrières françaises de pierre de taille. Société de diffusion des techniques du bâtiment et des travaux publics. Paris, 1970.

Price M. T. The Sourcebook of Decorative Stone. Quinlet Publishing Limited, 2007. 288 p.

Rosenbusch G. Mikroskopische Physiographie der petrographish wichtigen Mineralien. 1873.

Thury (Hericart de Thury). Rapport sür l’état actuel des cariéres de marbré. Annales des Mines. Série 1, 1823, vol. 8, pp. 2–96.

Touret J., Bulakh A. G. Italian names and a stone from Russia in the history of creating of the tombstone of Napoleon in the Dôme Des Invalides (Paris).Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Series 15. History of Arts, 2016, issue 4, pp. 70–83.

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Published

2018-08-28

How to Cite

Туре, Ж. and Булах, А. Г. (2018) “Ornamental stones of the Napoleon tombstone (Paris): art, geology, and geography”, Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Earth Sciences, 62(1), pp. 20–30. doi: 10.21638/11701/spbu07.2017.102.

Issue

Vol. 62 No. 1 (2017)

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Articles

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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Earth Sciences" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.

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