102 ITALIAN MARBLES. 
cean Venus, the Diana Venatrix, and Venus leaving the 
Bath. It is also Parian marble on which the celebrated 
tables at Oxford are inscribed. 
J46. CARRARA MARBLE, the purest of all the kinds 
with which we are acquainted, is to this day obtained 
from quarries near the town of Carrara. It is of bril- 
liant white colour, has a granular texture ; and, when 
broken, sparlcleslike sugar. This marble, which is almost 
the only one in use by modern sculptors, was also quar- 
ried and wrought by the ancients. 
It is susceptible of a high polish, and is applicable to 
every species of sculpture, except when, as is too often 
the case, dark veins intrude, and spoil the beauty of the 
work. In the centre of the blocks a beautiful kind of 
rock crystals, called Carrara diamonds, are sometimes 
found. 
During the late war with France, the exportation of 
statuary marble from the countries under the dominion of 
Buonaparte was prohibited ; and, at one time, it became 
so scarce in England as to be sold at the rate of more 
than seven guineas per cubic fcot. The block of marble 
for the statue of his late Majesty in the great Coun- 
cil Chamber at Guildhall, London, was stated by the 
public prints to have cost twelve hundred guineas. 
147. LUNI MARBLE is a snow-white, compact, and 
finely granular variety, which was obtained by the an- 
cients from quarries on the coast of Tuscany. It was 
preferred by the Grecian sculptors,, both to the Parian 
and Pentelic marbles ; and it is usually supposed that 
the Belvidere Apollo, as well as the Antinous of the 
Capitol, was wrought out of this marble. There is now 
found at Luni a white marble, variegated with red spots 
and dots. 
148. GREEN ANTIQUE MARBLE, or VERDE ANTIQUE 
of the Italians, is a mixture of white marble and green ser- 
pentine (132). This is believed to have been obtained 
from some part of Italy, but the quarries are not now 
known. 
