Dreweatts 1759
Los 310
A pair of Blue John columnar table lamps, 19th century and later, the sectional tapering shafts with square tops and stepped square section plinths, later twin light electrical fitments above, with pleated fabric shades, the Blue John 48cm high, height overall 71cm There is only one place where ‘Blue John’, a rare and precious colour banded form of fluorspar, is mined: a single hill in Castleton, Derbyshire. The mineral’s unusual name is said to derive from the French ‘bleu jaune’ which translates to ‘blue yellow’ - referring to its lustrous jewel tones. Another, more local, theory is that the term ‘Blue John’ was used by miners to distinguish it from zinc ore, known as ‘Black Jack’. Though prized for their decorative appeal, fluorspars such as Blue John have long been appreciated for their more functional qualities too. The Roman poet Martial, writing towards the end of the first century AD, for example claimed that wine tasted better when consumed from a ‘murrine’ cup. ‘Murra’ has been identified with fluorspar, and was introduced to the Romans by Pompey the Great after his expeditions in the East (possibly a variety found in Persia, present day Iran) circa 62 AD. Due to its fragility, fluorspar is often heated in the oven with a coating of (pine) resin, in order to stabilise the crystals after the mineral is mined. This longstanding manufacturing process may have accounted for the added aroma referred to by Martial. The mineral was so popular in Ancient Rome that, as naturalist and historian Pliny tells us, Emperor Nero himself apparently paid one million sesterces for a cup. Two Roman drinking vessels made of similar fluorspars are held in the collection of the British Museum (the Barber Cup and the Crawford Cup).In the 18th century, Blue John mining for the decorative arts was in full swing. References to the material can for example be found in the letters of Matthew Boulton, who regularly used the mineral to adorn his opulent ormolu works of art.
