A PIETRA DURA PANEL SHOWING A VIEW OF FLORENCE c1590-1600
I've written about pietra dura (the Italian craft of making beautiful objects using semi-precious hardstones) before in this blog but couldn't resist publishing a short article on a piece which came up for auction last November.
Florence was an epicentre for the craft of pietra dura in the 16th century and there were several workshops in the city, but probably none finer than that of Cosimo Castrucci (fl.1576-1602) who specialised in making panels with pictorial scenes made from various semi-precious stones.
In 1592 Cosimo and his son Giovanni travelled to Prague to set up a workshop at the Imperial Court of Rudolph II - a keen patron of the craft. Hardstone panels were expensive, luxurious and highly valued by Kings and aristocrats round Europe so to have a workshop and examples of the craft in one's Kingly possession would have been a huge status symbol for Rudolph.
This panel, probably made in the Prague workshops of Castrucci and featuring a view of Florence was consigned to German auctioneer Lempertz of Cologne by a Belgian vendor last autmn. The view of the Arno River with a fisherman in the foreground and a panorama of Florence in the background, is crafted from a variety of semi-precious stones including jasper, chalcedony and agates fastened to a slate panel. It's mounted in a leaded iron frame and measures 20 x 27 cm.
With a presale estimate of 30-40 thousand euros when it came to the auction block it fetched 230,000 euros plus commission and was bought by the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein who have a collection of works by Castrucci. I remember them buying the remarable pietra dura Badminton Cabinet for £19 million pounds in 2004 at Christie's in London.
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