Square table top. Marble and hard stones. Inspired by Italian models of the XVI-XVII centuries. A pearl necklace with a bow has been placed in the center of the board, on a black background. It is surrounded by an area of plant scrolls, flowers and perched birds framed with a band of simplified scrolls. Outside, eight fish have been placed in the corners facing each other two by two with a ball, a crown and placed on an architectural motif, visually united by means of vegetal scrolls. This inlay, called "hard stone work", which uses colored marbles and stones with a hardness greater than 6 on the Mohs scale, emerged in Florence, thanks to the attempt of Piero de' Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent to revitalize and update a technique of mosaic called "opus sectile" used in Ancient Rome. He had such success in the European courts that, since the 17th century, a series of workshops were created following his example, among which the Gobelin Factory in France, the Royal Workshop in Naples and the one established by Charles III in the Royal Site of El Buen Retiro in Madrid, which continued in operation until the beginning of the 19th century. Stylistically, they began with a striking variety of motifs, but from about 1600, naturalists (flowers, fruits, butterflies, birds...) were generally preferred. Table tops, plaques, desks, vases, etc. were made with this technique, always for the high aristocracy and royalty due to the very high prices of these works, due to the high specialization required since, very often, it was necessary to import the raw material (lapis lazuli, agates, Belgian black marble used to be for the backgrounds…). This example is heir to this important tradition, the influence of which is demonstrated when compared to works such as those in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, the Roman panel from the end of the 16th century (inventory 62,259) in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, or the one made in Naples by Francesco Ghinghi around the middle of the 18th century (inventory O00511) preserved in the Prado Museum in Madrid.
· Size: 90x90 cms.
DECORATION
