in northern europe, especially in belgium and france, "noir belge" was also applied to large decorative structures such as stairs, floorings, altars, fireplaces... it was often used in combination with white marble imported from carrara but also with local red and grey marbles. it was applied on a large scale in chessboard floorings, for example in the palace of versailles and the chateau of vaux-le-vicomte. until the 1930s it remained popular in art deco decorations such as clocks and vases.