The
rooms on the ground floor of Palazzo Pitti, originally
the grand ducal summer apartments, and the mezzanine
rooms were chosen in 1861 as the location of the
Silver Museum, which collects various kinds of
precious objects (gems, cameos, semi-precious
stones, ivory, jewels, silver....) to document
the sumptuous life of the princes and the collections
owned by the dynasties that ruled Tuscany, with
specific attention to the Medici and Lorraine
families.
The core of the collection of Medici origin was
originally preserved in Palazzo Medici in via
Larga (now via Cavour), where Cosimo the Elder
had started in the 15th century a lavish and diverse
collection of precious objects, which would be
later increased by his son Piero and his grandson
Lorenzo the Magnificent. One of the most valuable
categories comprises the vases of Lorenzo, which
are extremely valuable pieces both historically
and artistically.
The enrichment of the family collections in the
16th century by the Grand Duke Cosimo marks the
cultural policy of the Medici, aimed at protecting
artists and at directly commissioning precious
objects. As a result, Florence became one of the
most qualified centres in the production of the
so-called "minor arts". The grand ducal
workshops, strengthened by the second Grand Duke
of Tuscany, Francesco, organised their independent
and functional premises in the Uffizi palace under
Ferdinando I de’ Medici in 1588. Cutters
of crystal, cameos and semi-precious stones, goldsmiths,
etc. competed in displays of invention and superb
technique to produce the objects that still constitute
the main core of the Museum. Many of the jewels
were sent as gifts to the kings and powerful families
in Europe with which the Medici had formed a close
network of relations.
One of the most refined examples is the gold-mounted
lapislazuli vase by the goldsmith Bilivert, based
on a design of Bernardo Buontalenti, which fully
documents the preciousness of the 16th century
Manneristic taste. Equally precious are the objects
cut in ivory brought from Germany in the 17th
century by Prince Mattias de’ Medici and
the large collection of cameos and the so-called
“Galanterie ingioiellate” of Anna
Maria Luisa, the last Medici (early 18th century),
who purchased precious jewels in the whole of
Europe.
Equally extraordinary are the objects brought
to Florence by Ferdinando III of Lorraine after
his return from exile following the brief Napoleonic
period. The oldest and most beautifully worked
pieces are the gold plates, beakers, "corni
potori" (drinking horns) and wooden cups
mounted in silver and enamel.
The present arrangement of the museum aims at
focusing both on the different aspects of the
grand ducal collection and on the beauty of the
rooms chosen to display it, which significantly
underline some of the aspects of the Florentine
artistic culture. These include the great room
frescoed by Giovanni da San Giovanni (1592-1636)
and his assistants on the occasion of the marriage
of Ferdinando II de’ Medici and Vittoria
della Rovere (1634), where sumptuous mythological
allegories and references highlight the many aspects
of the cultural and political life of the |
