Carlton Hobbs Blog: If These Walls Could Blog...

August 10 2009, 9:06am

Our recent exhibition, “On Tops,” included a 19th century Italian table with geometric inlaid marble top (figure 1). The design for the top appeared to be based on 15th- and 16th-century Moresque decorative motifs found in Andalusia, which include arabesque designs and geometric patterns consisting of stars, ziggurats, and interlocking circles. The repeating designs on the present tabletop recall marble floors and tiles produced at this time. Another related source is found in the rich Sicilian-Moorish decoration of Caserta Vecchia’s 12th-century cathedral, where an arabesque design in various marbles features a similar color scheme as the present top, with a black background and complex interlaced white marble bands framing yellow and red star shapes.