Hi There.....Both answers are pretty close!! It is venetain plaster, but the reflective quality that venetian plaster has on its own because of the waxing process, was expanded upon, by adding a mica powder into the wax, thats where that silvery quality comes from.....while ebony slate is a dark gray color, I used Ben Moores Days End as the color to work off of.....on a large scale, the ebony slate has more of a "purple/brown" tone to it....hope this helps.....