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It is one of two pictorial techniques in stone, the other being intarsia (inlay). A pietre dure mosaic is created by cutting slices of semiprecious stones that are cut to shape and assembled face down. In a second step the mosaic is consolidated with resin that is poured over the back and finally backed with a slate tablet.\r\n\r\nHardstone Mosaics (Commessi di pietre dure)\r\nThe history of this technique goes back to the sixteenth century. In 1588 Ferdinand de' Medici established the Grand Ducal workshop in Florence, which supported and patronised the specialised art of hardstone mosaics. Many craftsmen were trained in Florence before setting up studios around Italy. Pietre dure mosaics were produced in Florence, Milan and Rome; other European cities, such as Prague also became centre of production later on.\r\n\r\nSoon craftsmen were attempting to create the perfect 'stone paintings' through the clever exploitation of the natural variations in pigment of the stones. By the seventeenth century when the plaques for this cabinet were made, the technique was highly refined and allowed the creation of figural pictures. They sometimes included transparent stones, such as those used for the cherries on the two outer pictures one the base row of panels.\r\n\r\nA video showing the creation of a hardstone mosaic panel is available on the web site of the Victoria and Albert Museum on: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/videos/m/video-making-a-pietre-dure-panel/\r\n\r\nIt is likely that the panels were purchased by a traveller and taken home to be set in a cabinet made by a local craftsman. Florentine pietre dure panels were sought-after and luxurious souvenirs and can be found on pieces of furniture from all over Europe. The subject-matter of the panels of this cabinet - birds, flowers and even the fountain in a courtyard - are typical for Florentine work of the period, as is the black background. These generic motifs were often combined with other details specific to the patron. A hidden panel placed on the interior of the central door depicts St Catherina of Alexandria, a fourth-century Christian martyr. The panel seems to be inspired by a painting by the artist Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - c.1654) which has resided in the Uffizi Gallery since its creation in 1615-1617. \r\n\r\nSir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Table cabinet made of softwood with ebony veneer and rippled moulding and fitted with brass mounts, it is set with Florentine mosaic (commessi di pietre dure) panels of hard, soft stones and marbles. The cabinet is set on an English stand of carved and gilded wood.","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Cabinet: stone mosaic panels, pietre dure (hardstone), ebonised softwoodwood and brass; Stand: carved giltwood; Fruitwood as blind wood for drawers, ebonised wood for back and ebony for visible parts. The ebony appears to have been stained to refresh areas where the original colour of the wood had fainted. Brass mounts.","categories":[{"text":"Mosaic","id":"THES253095"},{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2022NF8355","2022NF8356","2022NF8357","2022NF8358","2022NF8359","2022NF8360","2022NF8361","2022NF8362","2022NF8363","2022NF8364","2022NF8365","2022NF8366","2022NF8367","2022NF8368","2022NF8369","2022NF8370","2022NF8371","2022NF8372","2022NF8373","2022NF8374","2022NF8375","2012FP3755","2012FP3654","2012FP3754","2012FP3756","2012FP3757","2012FP4535","2012FP4537","2012FP3753","2012FT9878"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES344710"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""},{"current":{"text":"133","id":"THES49881"},"free":"","case":"BY5","shelf":"WALL","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"cabinet","id":""}],[{"text":"stand","id":"AAT39767"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"blind drawer","id":"AAT174730"}],[{"text":"blind drawer","id":"AAT174730"}],[{"text":"blind drawer","id":"AAT174730"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}],[{"text":"drawer","id":"AAT40558"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"c.1630-1640","earliest":"1625-01-01","latest":"1640-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"57.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Cabinet","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"89.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Cabinet","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"35.6","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Cabinet","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"80","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Stand","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"97.8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Stand","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"41.9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Stand","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"14","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Stand","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Provenance: Sale, Sotheby's, London, lot 105, 25/07/1969.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Cabinet and base, panels of commessi di pietre dure (stone mosaics): Florence, early 17th century, cabinet: North European, 17th century, stand: English, 1640.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Sherman, Anthony C. <u>The Gilbert Mosaic Collection</u>. Edited by M. Barbara Scheibel. West Haven, Connecticut: Pendulum Press, 1971, cat. no. 32."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. <u>Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue</u>. Exhibition catalogue Victoria & Albert Museum. London: H.M.S.O. 1975, cat. no. 45."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hillier, Bevis. 'The Gilbert Collection of Mosaics'.  <u>The Connoisseur</u>, vol. 188, no. 758, April 1975, pl. A, p. 269."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<u>Sunset</u>, 1977, p. 71"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar. <u>The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection</u>, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1977. 143 p., ill. Cat. no. 4. ISBN 0875870805."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar and Steffi Röttgen with essays by Steffi Röttgen, Claudia Przyborowski; essays and new catalogue material translated by Alla Theodora Hall. <u>The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection</u>. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1982. 224 p., ill. Cat. no. 4. ISBN 0875871097"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Massinelli, Anna Maria with contributions by Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel. <u>Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection</u>. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 329 p., ill. Cat. no. 2, pp.32-35. ISBN 0856675105."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"For further information about the making of pietre dure, see the video Making a Pietre Dure panel:\r\n\r\nhttp://web.archive.org/web/20230213102443/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/videos/m/video-making-a-pietre-dure-panel."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Cabinet\r\nAbout 1650\r\nUsing panels of 1600–50\r\n\r\nCabinet:\r\nNorthern Europe (possibly Paris or Antwerp)\r\nPoplar, softwood and fruitwood with ebony veneer\r\n\r\nPanels:\r\nItaly (Florence)\r\nBlack marble and pietre dure\r\n\r\nMounts: brass\r\n\r\nThe Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum\r\nMuseum no. Loan:Gilbert.105-2008\r\n\r\nFlorentine pietre dure is a form of hardstone marquetry. To make the panels, slices of hardstone were sawn to shape and assembled face down. The resulting stone marquetry was backed with resin and slate, and the front polished smooth. \r\n\r\nThe technique was perfected in the Grand Ducal workshops of Florence in the late 16th century and spread to other cities.","date":{"text":"01/12/2012","earliest":"2012-12-01","latest":"2012-12-01"}}],"partNumbers":["LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/1-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:2-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/2-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/5-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/6-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/7-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/8-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/9-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/10-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/11-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/12-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/13-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/14-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/15-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/16-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/17-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/18-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/19-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/3-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.105:1/4-2008"],"accessionNumberNum":"105","accessionNumberPrefix":"LOAN:GILBERT","accessionYear":2008,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Arthur Gilbert Number","id":"THES50383"},"number":"MM 11"},{"type":{"text":"LACMA","id":"THES57415"},"number":"m.77.1.15"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","cabinet","base"],"assets":["2019LM1609","2019LN7997","2019LU6062","2019LU1378","2019LW8865"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-08-15","recordCreationDate":"2008-06-26","availableToBook":false}}