See pictures and read more on materiallyspeaking.com 

Stephan Hamel – a brand catalyst who divides his time between Milan, Vienna and Pietrasanta – tells the story of his Italian grandfather laying marble in palaces in India in the years both before and after Independence from the British. 

Stephan reflects on the many ways in which marble has represented power over the generations, and observes that the artists may not always support the politics involved. He ponders on the number of dictators whose effigies have been commissioned in marble, and how many of those subjects were toppled from power before their statues could be installed.