RECTANGULAR PIETRA DURA TABLETOP. MARBLE AND HARDSTONES.

Rectangular table top in marble and hard stones. Inspired by Italian models from the 16th-17th centuries. Two axes of flowers flanked by vegetal scrolls facing each other and with a geometric arrangement have been placed in the center. This motif is framed by a white line that forms rhombuses on the smaller sides, along with another blue line. Towards the outside, another band leaves square spaces in the corners with simplified flowers and simple scrolls. A wide blue band and a narrower white band face the outside. The technique known as “hard stone work” is similar to marquetry, but uses marbles of different colors and stones with a hardness greater than 6 on the Mohs scale instead of wood. It was born in Florence, with the attempt carried out by Piero de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent to revitalize an Ancient Roman mosaic technique called “opus sectile”. Such was the success that the workshops multiplied throughout Europe, among which the Gobelin Factory in France, the Royal Workshop of Naples (which took over from the Medici) and the one established in the Royal Site of El Buen stand out. Retreat from Madrid by Charles III, which had the support of quality local specialists but which was closed under Napoleon in 1808 and destroyed in 1812. The objects made (desks, tables, vases, plates...) initially showed a great decorative variety, but, starting around 1600, a clear prominence of naturalistic elements over geometric ones was noticed: flowers, fruits, birds, pearls, butterflies... The present example is heir to this tradition, as demonstrated by comparing it with works such as the table from the Prado Museum in Madrid made by Francesco Ghinghi in the Real Laboratorio Delle Piedre Dure in Naples (catalog number O00511), or the board from the late 16th or early 17th century created in Rome (inventory 62,259) from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, or those preserved in the Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence or the examples from the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid. However, it is necessary to highlight the update towards more contemporary tastes that can be seen in the geometric play made with the white and blue bands.

· Size: 150x90 cms.