An octagonal Derbyshire Black Marble table with Lapis Lazuli, attributed to Tomlinson

The top of this table is inlaid with a large wreath of British garden flowers, including predominately white stephanotis, lilac, carnations, lilies, roses, lilies of the valley, fuchsias and two sprays of bright blue forget-me-nots, all against a profusion of leaves, raised on a turned and gadrooned baluster support with a tripod base.  English, circa 1850. 

Height: 30½in (77.5cm) Diameter: 34¼ in (87cm)

Literature: John Michael Tomlinson, Derbyshire Black Marble, Ashbourne, 1996, p.61, shows a very similar table with a circular top exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.  

Ashford marble, as it is sometimes called, is in fact a type of limestone rather than a marble, which turns a deep glossy black when polished.  Produced from only two quarries near Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire, it was primarily used for expensive commissions.  Bess of Hardwick installed a chimney piece at Chatsworth as early as 1580 and William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire (1790-1858) encouraged its revival after admiring Florentine work in Italy..  The stone became fashionable as a material for both ornaments and furniture after featuring at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in an exhibit sponsored by Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.