Rectangular tabletop with marbles and hard stones. Inspired by Italian models from the 16th and 17th centuries. The vein of a particular stone has been highlighted by placing it in the center and surrounding it with a necklace of round and rhomboid beads. Around it, a decoration of vegetal scrolls with flowers, clearly inspired by classical art, stands out. To complete the composition, without detracting from the central area, the outer band displays a series of empty mirrors within cartouches reminiscent of those used during the Renaissance. The technique is very similar to marquetry, but it uses marbles and hard stones (over 7 on the Mohs scale) to create these designs. Desks, boards, and other objects were made using this "hard stone work." Lapis lazuli was typically used with a Belgian marble background, accompanied by jade, chalcedony, and other stones. The price of the materials and the skilled labor made these works of art so expensive that they were only commissioned by the leading houses and courts of the time, which is why today they are only preserved in prominent private collections and major museums. Piero de' Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent began to support a series of projects in Florence to revive, with thematic and technical modifications, the Roman mosaic technique known as "opus sectile." It was during this period that the greatest decorative variety emerged, because, from around 1600 onward, naturalistic motifs came to predominate. Over the years, birds, parrots, interlacing patterns, pearls, and other elements were added. The work with hard stones was so successful that, from the 17th century onward, a number of workshops were established in Europe to continue this tradition, most notably the Gobelins Manufactory in France, the Royal Workshop of Naples, and the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. Compare this table with other masterpieces: the “Duke of Osuna Table” (O00501) made in 1614 and kept in the Prado Museum in Madrid has an outer band that is reminiscent of this one; the “Farnese Table” in the Metropolitan Museum of New York (58.57 ad) also stands out for the veining of the stone in its central area; and some kept in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure Museum in Florence.
· Size: 180x120 cms.
DECORATION
Ref.: AWRT229 ...
