Have you wondered about the rostrum's background at the Senate trial?

[MineralMan]

I certainly did. I noticed it behind the impeachment managers as they presented their case. It's a very striking backdrop, looking like aluminum embedded in a dark background, with three-dimensional qualities. So, I dug in to find out what it was. It wasn't easy to get the answer. Not easy at all. I spent a couple of hours on Google before identifying it.

It's marble, of the variety Rosso Levanto. The ground color is actually a deep red brown, and the figure color is creamy white. It's name means "red from the Levant." While that variety of marble can be found in Italy, it is quarried primarily in Turkey. Its striking appearance and high contrast makes it a dramatic background when used as a facing material, as on the Senate rostrum.

It's a rather expensive style of marble, but is available in slabs or as tiles from most marble suppliers. It's a little too dramatic for use in a residential setting, but makes a big statement in places like the Senate chambers.

So, that's what MineralMan has been up to during the trial, at least some of the time.

[luvs2sing]

1. Thanks for that!

I thought it was probably marble, but I didn’t know all the fascinating details. Is is beautiful!

[MineralMan]

2. My pleasure. It is beautiful, but also distracting.

I found out it was marble from an architecture web page about the Senate chambers, but the variety wasn't identified. I noticed the red brown color in some lighting Then, I started searching for red and cream marble. Google Images led me to the actual name of the material.

While I was stationed in Turkey in the mid-60s while in the USAF, I visited a marble quarry there once. Such connections and information are always fascinating, I think.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Basically the same pattern at the UN, I believe, though a different color...

The UN backdrop is green, IIRC.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes. I don't really like the marble background at the UN.

Rather than using book-matched slabs on that vertical surface, they used individual tiles, which break up the pattern way too much for my taste.

Rocks and minerals are a long-held interest for me. I'm weird that way, and I've been seen looking at stone facings on buildings in many cities with a jeweler's loupe. I carry one in my pocket all the time. Identifying minerals in granite and other stone facings is a hobby for me. A weird hobby, based on the looks I've gotten from time to time.

[malaise]

12. That's what i thought when I first saw it

[mopinko]

5. i should have known someone else here would notice.

i llloooooove marble, and i love looking at that lovely slab.
what do you think those splashes of green are? copper-something, i assume.

i have done a lot of tile in my house, and i can only barely lay a straight run of tiles out of the box. always have to cut some in half, and make a little border, at the minimum.
i have done several mosaics around my house, including my kitchen backsplash and my foyer floor.

i truly love that color. marble has a very limited palette, and i am a tetrachrome, so it is a bit love/hate.
but i have used a lot of that red, w a red veined cream.

i recently did a rehab on a rental and i salvaged a beautiful chunk of countertop.
mostly cream, w veins of something metallic/grey, and red dots. garnets.
i havent chipped the leftover bits apart yet, but it's def on my to-do-list.

[MineralMan]

7. Metamorphic rock is fascinating.

Most likely, greens have some copper content, but there are other green minerals, so it's never certain. For example, serpentine rock, which is related to marble, is generally green, but contains no significant amount of copper.

Marble is a fascinating material, I think. Found almost everywhere on the planet, it comes in a vast array of color combinations, making it a favorite facing and flooring material for buildings and as the basic material for all kinds of sculptures. I try to visit marble quarries wherever I travel.

[mopinko]

13. vast array? no. very limited.

emerald greens, rusty reds, creams and greys. pretty much it for ground colors.
now, inclusions are where there are more colors, but those are pretty limited, too.

i had the great gift of a trip to india about 10 years ago.
my tongue was regularly on the floor.
one hotel had a huge front desk of sapphire. pools of translucent light blue, in a sandy colored matrix. lit from behind.

the temples and the taj. omg.

but one thing that cracked me up was the truck stops.
in india, everything is made of marble. cheap places are tiled in grey marble.
now, tetrachrome and painter to boot, so, there are several pairs of colors that most people cant even tell apart, but i love one and absolutely despise the other.
one of those pairs is cad red and carmine red.
another is warm/cool greys. iow, blue greys/yellow greys.
all the cheap joints had the warm greys.

i am totally cool grey. this applies to hair color, too. i, happily, have the silvery color from my dad's side. my sisters are cursed w the yellowish grey from my mom. they hate me.

thanks for coming to my ted talk- on color and emotion.

[Backseat Driver]

6. Thanks for that research, MM - Did you

happen to catch Shurmer's little update the other night when the camera lighting on Johnson's dark-toned statue behind him looked more like "david" with "equipment" with highlights on the "guts." as well. I just had to laugh out loud - Bet Shurmer didn't even know he had that "Man's got balls and guts!" behind him, LOL!

[MineralMan]

8. I didn't notice that, I'm afraid.

[Backseat Driver]

10. Found it - not really sure on identity of statue, but LOL in any case!

[MineralMan]

11. Good eye! Good catch!

[empedocles]

9. 'Fine point'

[pwb]

14. Are the drapes new behind the chief justice?

?

[MineralMan]

15. I don't know. I like rocks.

[Perseus]

16. Thank you, I have been admiring it, it is beautiful

[KPN]

17. How did you know that was what I was wondering?!

[chowder66]

18. Thank you! I had my tv repaired and was working on color settings and nearly looked it up myself

to adjust accordingly. Now I know I have the right colors. LOL.

[Cicada]

19. Thanks, I gave up after 30 minutes

[maxsolomon]

20. I tried to dig into that too!

but I only made a cursory attempt.

It looks pretty dated. The whole room needs refreshing if you ask me.

[Kali]

21. well it was obviously marble, I tend to notice stone work as the husband is a masonry contractor

but I am not up on marble varieties. so much stone is from Turkey, it is amazing.

[livvy]

22. Thanks!

I was wondering the same thing over the last few days. I thought it had a reddish tint to it, but wasn't sure if it my TV or the actual color. I was just starting to dig in the web to find out, and your post popped up. I see you have saved me quite a bit of time. Much appreciate the interesting info.
Rocks do rock.