Filandre
A soft vein running through a block of stone.
Stone Carving
Finish
The final character of a sculptural surface produced by tools, abrasives, polishing, patination, or deliberate retention of working marks.
Fluting
A series of parallel concave grooves cut into a column, pilaster, vessel, pedestal, or sculptural form.
Fouiller
To carve deeply into recessed passages in order to clarify folds, openings, separations, and shadow.
Fier
French stone term for a hard, difficult stone liable to spall or burst unpredictably under the tool.
Foliation
Planar alignment of minerals in certain metamorphic rocks, producing a layered structural fabric.
Durillon
A localized hard spot, nodule, or resistant inclusion within a stone.
Marble
A recrystallized carbonate rock composed predominantly of calcite, dolomite, or both; its mineralogy, grain, fabric, veining, and structural integrity directly govern how it can be carved.
Obelisk
A tall, tapering, four-sided monolithic monument terminating in a pyramidal top.
Polishing
The progressive refinement of a stone surface with increasingly fine abrasives until the desired sheen is reached.