Pair of Blue John and bronze vases

A pair of Victorian bronze carved, gilded and patinated cassolettes. On three putti's head shaped feet, a triangular base in bronze patinated bears three balls. This balls are used to support three wreaths decorated with lion's paws and ending by eagle's heads in gilted bronze. The flared stem is in blue John. The cover pierced gilt bronze forms shells and is ending by a shape pinecone.
The fluorine is natural fluoride the most important. It comes in many veins often associated with rocks of granitic composition and has always fascinated man by his wealth and colors. The commercial and industrial term for fluorite is spathfluor. The use of fluorine as an industrial mineral is relatively recent. Its interest was, until the mid-19th century, mainly decorative. Then it became industrial in the 1820s and industrial development took place from 1860 -1880.
The spath fluor was extracted in Derbyshire from 1750, it became a valuable material to associate with gilt bronze for the realization of art objects. The «blue John» is a variety of spath fluor, translucent playing with colors from purple to dark yellow honey. It is found only in a mine in Castleton, Derbyshire English. The stone is exported to France to be worked. Because of its color, it is familiarly called «blue yellow». Back in England, its name is found it will be the «blue John».