Pietra Dura Tabletop, "Bird and Butterfly" Marbles and Hard Stones, 20th Century

Rectangular tabletop with marbles and hard stones. Inspired by Italian models of the XVI-XVII centuries. The vein of a particular stone has been highlighted by placing it in the cent...

Circular tabletop in marbles and hard stones. Inspired by Italian models of the XVI-XVII centuries. In the centre of the board, surrounded by a garland of flowers, has been placed a pearl necklace with a bow. Around this element, four vases with birds perched on interspersed branches and, more towards the outside, a band with vegetal scrolls are presented. They frame this area with simplified scrolls and one with others more worked and interspersed with avenerated forms and heraldic shields, and posed birds. The fleur-de-lis on the edge clearly shows the influence of Gobelino's works on this board. The French workshop was created with the aim of making this type of inlay for the court of this country, and is the heir of the native centre of the "hard stone work": the Florence of Piero de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent, who wanted to revive a Roman technique called mosaic "opus sectile". It is also necessary to mention the Royal Workshop of Naples and the one created by Carlos III in the Real Sitio of El Buen Retiro in Madrid, which closed at the beginning of the 19th century. After 1600 the primacy of decoration that appeared in the fifteenth century is clear, and elements such as birds, butterflies and pearl necklaces were added over time. The present example inherits all this tradition: compare with the table realized by Francesco Ghinghi in the Real Laboratory Delle Piedre Dure of Naples (number of catalog O00511) and the board (O00466) of towards half-full of century XVIII, both in the Museum of the Prado from Madrid, those preserved in the Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence (especially works such as the panel made as a model for a table by Jacopo LIgozzi...

1990s Pietra Dura mosaic inlay marble table top handmade with semiprecious blue lapis lazuli gemstone and an assortment of coloured marbles.  

In India, the art of Pietra Dura is known as Parchin Kari and is most famously associated with the Taj Mahal in Agra. This intricate technique was introduced to India by the Mughals ...