“Art
and nature” could be the motto of this extraordinary
museum dedicated to semi-precious stone inlays,
where artistic talent competes only with the splendour
of the materials employed.
It was the passion of the Medici for this precious
form of art that led Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’
Medici to establish in 1588 a court laboratory
specialised in semi-precious mosaics and inlays.
This grand ducal institution, which remained active
for over three centuries, was the core of the
Opificio delle Pietre Dure, established at the
end of the 19th century, which still has its seat
in the original location chosen in 1798 for the
laboratories formerly housed in the Uffizi.
The Florentine production was lavish and very
prestigious and is today represented by the fine
examples preserved both in Florentine and foreign
museums. Yet, this small museum is the only institution
that focuses only on this theme and offers therefore
the opportunity of fully understanding this suggestive
chapter of Florentine history. The collection
is arranged by themes in chronological order.
The first section is dedicated to The first Grand
dukes and semi-precious stone. This section displays
porphyry sculptures dating back to the age of
Cosimo I de’ Medici, who had a special predilection
for this ancient and precious material, enriched
by sophisticated furniture pieces in semi-precious
stones made for his sons Francesco I and Ferdinando
I. The so-called "Florentine brand"
dates back to this period, that is to the late
16th century. The brand, that would continue to
be for centuries the pride of the laboratory,
consists in a very imaginative mosaic technique
that used natural colours and precious stones,
cut in sections and skilfully matched to form
a larger image.
“Stone painting” was the term chosen
by its initiators to define Florentine mosaics,
because this technique enables to represent a
varying range of subjects, fully represented in
the museum, ranging from portraits to abstract
subjects, from landscapes to stories with figures,
from architectural views to natural themes.
Stone flowers is the section dedicated to the
very trendy theme of flowers, that flourished
between the 17th and 18th centuries. Flowers were
often matched with fruit and birds and were used
in particular to decorate table tops or cover
chests. From the early years of the 17th century,
the laboratory also contributed to the monumental
project of the Chapel of the Princes, the mausoleum
of the Medici family erected in 1604 by Ferdinando
I, who had planned to entirely decorate it with
semi-precious stones. Works were completed only
during mid-19th century. The incredible commitment
of the laboratory is documented in the Museum
with several works and projects, connected with
different phases of an activity that covered several
centuries.
Cammeos, small inlays, small picture frames, chests
and other furniture pieces, both religious and
laic, where semi-precious stones are often sumptuously
matched with ebony and gilded bronze typically
indicate the Baroque taste of the Last members
of the Medici family.
The last member of the family died in 1737 and
the dynasty was replaced by the Austrian Hapsburg-Lorraine
family. The Lorraine period, which runs up to
1859, continued to foster the success of the laboratory,
which produced several pictures in semi-precious
stones to the design of models drawn by the painter
Giuseppe Zocchi and destined to the Court of Vienna.
Its production also included neo-classic compositions
of vases and shells designed to integrate the
tableware of the Pitti Palace. During the mid-19th
century, the laboratory artisans seemed to prefer
lighter and more delicate shades that were fashionable
from the Rococo period to the Empire period, and
again returned to the velvet fascination of black
marble and to the famous compositions of flowers.
The Opificio delle Pietre Dure after the unification
of Italy experienced a financial decline, although
its artistic level continued to the very high.
Its products were sold to bourgeois customers
and comprised table tops, small refined objects,
small sculptures in semi-precious stones, all
characterised by an impeccable style and an extraordinary
taste in the matching of colours. Looking at these
works of art and admiring their complex yet natural
beauty, visitors often wonder how these works
are created. These questions find an answer in
the section dedicated to The Laboratory of semi-precious
stones that guides visitors through the complex
procedure that leads to the creation of Florentine
mosaics and inlays. The incredible marble table
displayed by these artisans comprises hundreds
of samples of precious stones. The table also
represents models of drawings and graphs that
have been specifically created to be reproduced
with semi-precious stones. This section also offers
a view of the 18th century working tables, rather
ingenious yet functional, and of the tools used
to carry out the different production stages.
The itinerary of the Museum ends with a section
dedicated to Similar forms of art: painting on
stone and scagliola, a kind of artistic production
that was very fashionable between the 17th and
18th centuries.
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