Description
Casket with commessi in pietre dure Ebonized wood on oak and coniferous wood, flat commesso with different kinds of marbles and hardstones, gilded bronze. Casket over rectangular ground plan, with convex-concave curved base and lid. The bevelled corners accentuated with volutes and mascarons in gilded bronze. On the lid and four sides profiled framed commesso plates with flower and fruit depictions in fine colour nuances. H 21,5, W 38,5, D 32 cm. Florence, Galleria dei Lavori, late 17th/early 18th century. Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by coloured and precious stones. Hidden deep in the earth and often encased in an unpretentious mantle, they must be painstakingly brought to light and uncovered in order to unfold their magic. Extraordinary marbles have been extracted from Italian quarries since ancient times. But in the 16th century, the growth of maritime and land trade brought additional precious stones to Italy. Passionate stone collectors were Cosimo I de' Medici and his son Francesco. Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici (1549 - 1609) finally decided to found the first large stone-working workshop, the Galleria dei Lavori in Pietre Dure, which began its work in 1588. The Grand Duke hired local craftsmen who specialized in restoring antique objects carved in stone and in making contemporary inlaid paintings in colored stone to adorn furniture and paneling in the new taste. Artists trained in this workshop traveled throughout Europe to work for other noble or royal households. Northern Europeans visited the Galleria dei Lavori on the Grand Tour, buying and ordering objects with and from pietre dure. In the mid-18th century, the workshop was renamed Opificio delle Pietre Dure and still exists today as a state-supported institution. Literature Cf. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia Arredi e Decorazioni d'interni dal 1600 al 1738, Milan 2000, p. 170, the cassetta from the Museo Nacional des Artes Decorativas in Madrid and p. 184, the chest from the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin. Cf. Giusti, Pietre Dure Bilder aus Stein, Munich 2005, pp. 159 ff. Cf. Koeppe / Giusti, Art of the Royal Court, New York 2008, p. 198f, no. 54. For similarly fine stone inlays see the "Barberini Cabinet" in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art , Acc. No. 1988.19. Cf. the casket attributed to Giovanni Battista Foggini in the Royal Collection Trust, Inv.No. RCIN 11895. See also the ebony cabinet with marquetry in stone, attributed to Giovanni Bylifelt, in the Palazzo Vecchio Florence Collection, Inv. Sculture (1882), N. 1093 (Cat. Trésor des Médicis, Paris 2010, No. 88). Cf. cat. Wunderwelt: Der Pommersche Kunstschrank, Augsburg 2014, no. 65, the cabinet with the Pietra Dura inlays from the Maximilian Museum in Augsburg, inv. no. 5817.
1507
Casket with commessi in pietre dure Ebonized wood on oak and coniferous wood, flat commesso with different kinds of marbles and hardstones, gilded bronze. Casket over rectangular ground plan, with convex-concave curved base and lid. The bevelled corners accentuated with volutes and mascarons in gilded bronze. On the lid and four sides profiled framed commesso plates with flower and fruit depictions in fine colour nuances. H 21,5, W 38,5, D 32 cm. Florence, Galleria dei Lavori, late 17th/early 18th century. Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by coloured and precious stones. Hidden deep in the earth and often encased in an unpretentious mantle, they must be painstakingly brought to light and uncovered in order to unfold their magic. Extraordinary marbles have been extracted from Italian quarries since ancient times. But in the 16th century, the growth of maritime and land trade brought additional precious stones to Italy. Passionate stone collectors were Cosimo I de' Medici and his son Francesco. Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici (1549 - 1609) finally decided to found the first large stone-working workshop, the Galleria dei Lavori in Pietre Dure, which began its work in 1588. The Grand Duke hired local craftsmen who specialized in restoring antique objects carved in stone and in making contemporary inlaid paintings in colored stone to adorn furniture and paneling in the new taste. Artists trained in this workshop traveled throughout Europe to work for other noble or royal households. Northern Europeans visited the Galleria dei Lavori on the Grand Tour, buying and ordering objects with and from pietre dure. In the mid-18th century, the workshop was renamed Opificio delle Pietre Dure and still exists today as a state-supported institution. Literature Cf. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia Arredi e Decorazioni d'interni dal 1600 al 1738, Milan 2000, p. 170, the cassetta from the Museo Nacional des Artes Decorativas in Madrid and p. 184, the chest from the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin. Cf. Giusti, Pietre Dure Bilder aus Stein, Munich 2005, pp. 159 ff. Cf. Koeppe / Giusti, Art of the Royal Court, New York 2008, p. 198f, no. 54. For similarly fine stone inlays see the "Barberini Cabinet" in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art , Acc. No. 1988.19. Cf. the casket attributed to Giovanni Battista Foggini in the Royal Collection Trust, Inv.No. RCIN 11895. See also the ebony cabinet with marquetry in stone, attributed to Giovanni Bylifelt, in the Palazzo Vecchio Florence Collection, Inv. Sculture (1882), N. 1093 (Cat. Trésor des Médicis, Paris 2010, No. 88). Cf. cat. Wunderwelt: Der Pommersche Kunstschrank, Augsburg 2014, no. 65, the cabinet with the Pietra Dura inlays from the Maximilian Museum in Augsburg, inv. no. 5817.
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