Scagliola

Scagliola (from the Italian scaglia, meaning "chips"), is an artificial way of imitating marble and other precious material. It is a decorative building material.

Scagliola marble pattern

Choir stall decoration using scagliola technique, pre-1670. Kempten St. Lorenz Basilica

Stucco columns,^[1] sculptures, and other architectural elements can be made by scagliola. It came into fashion in 17th-century Tuscany.

Scagliola is a composite substance made from selenite,^[2] glue and natural pigments, imitating marble and other hard stones. The material may be veined with colours and stuck on to a core, or patterns may be carved into a prepared scagliola matrix. The pattern is then then filled with the coloured, plaster-like composite. Then it is polished with flax oil for brightness, and wax for protection. The whole thing gives a richness of colour not easy to get in natural marbles.