PIETRA DURA TABLETOP. MARBLE AND HARDSTONES.

Rectangular table top with marble and hard stones. Inspired by Italian models from the 16th-17th centuries. The vein of a particular stone has been highlighted by placing it in the centre and surrounded by a necklace with round and rhomboidal beads. Around it, a decoration based on floral scrolls stands out, with a marked classical inspiration. To complete the composition, without taking away the central area's prominence, the outer band shows a series of empty mirrors within cartouches reminiscent of those used in the Renaissance. The technique is very similar to inlay, but uses marble and hard stones (more than 7 on the Mohs scale) to make these designs. Desks, boards and other objects were made with “hard stone work”. Lapis lazuli was usually used together with Belgian marble as a background, accompanied by jade, chalcedony, etc. The price of the material and the specialized labor raised the cost of this type of artwork so much that its recipients were only the main houses and courts of the time, which is why today they are only preserved in prominent private collections and important museums. Piero de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent began to support a series of works in Florence to revive, with thematic and technical changes, the Roman mosaic technique called “opus sectile”. It was during this period that the greatest decorative variety was produced, because, from around 1600, naturalistic motifs were the ones that ended up prevailing. Over the years, birds, parrots, lacework, pearls, etc. were also added. The work with hard stones was so successful that, from the 17th century, a series of workshops were created in Europe that continued with this tradition, among which the Gobelins Factory in France, the Royal Workshop of Naples and the El Buen Retiro factory in Madrid stand out. Compare this panel with other masterpieces: the “Panel of the Duke of Osuna” (O00501) made in 1614 and kept in the Museo del Prado in Madrid has a band on the outside that is reminiscent of this one; the “Farnese Table” in the Metropolitan Museum of New York (58-57 AD) also stands out for its grain in the central area; and some are kept in the Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence.

· Size: 180x120 cms.