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Florentine Mosaic is a technique in which semiprecious stones are cut and assembled so that their different colors and grains form a pictorial composition. This term reflects the fact that the technique emerged in 16th-century Florence with a degree of perfection that has since been equaled, but never surpassed. Its origins undoubtedly lie in classic mosaic—Roman opus sectile—as the technique is e
Vessel similar to O38, except that the cover is missing. The precious stones on the jasper ring are complete, and the remaining cameos consist of a Roman-style bust of a crowned man and a woman’s head by the same maker, both of cornelian; another head, perhaps Hercules, in chalcedony; and a male bust crowned with laurel, with another female bust in the background, of agate, similar to a cameo pres
Vessel made up of two pieces of hardstone and three enamelled gold mounts. The larger piece forms the deep boat-shaped bowl, with the front raised, leaves on the rim, and a volute at the rear. A high S-shaped handle curves above the mouth and is connected to the body with a rectangular brooch-like appliqué. The bowl is joined with ring mounts to the short moulded stem, which ends in a flat
Vessel comprising pieces of agate with different patterns of veining, some possibly ancient, linked by adornments in different designs, in enamelled gold. The body is semi-spherical and is joined to the lid through an adornment consisting of two decorated bands, the first with small motifs, enamelled in white and green, and the second with ovolos in translucent red enamelling, imitating ruby caboc
Vessel comprising four hardstone pieces and five enamelled gold mounts. The oblong bowl has a boat-shaped profile with gadroons at the ends. A leaf-shaped piece serving as a lip is joined to the body with a mount of leaves and rows of beads enamelled in white and sky blue. The stem consists of a heliotrope ball and a balustroid piece linked to a flat oval foot, with an adornment of rounded leaves
Oval platter made up of eighteen pieces of heliotrope joined by a gilt bronze frame and a recessed central body with cruciform motif around a central oval. Attached to the structure of the mounting are several overlays of enamelled gold, some now lost, adorned with thirty-seven pearls, of which twenty-five remain today. There is a similar platter at the Musée du Louvre, which suggests that
Vessel made up of two pieces of chalcedony and an enamelled gold mount. The body is formed by a deep hemispherical base and a smaller lid of the same shape surmounted by a delicate pyramidal openwork structure of pointed leaves, pavilions, fruits and rows of beads. Inserted in this are three cameos and numerous children’s heads with enamel wings. The stem, also openwork, displays three large cameo
This vessel had a pair, now lost (I1416), which must have been very similar and by the same hand as O37, the work of the silversmith Pierre Ladoyreau or Ladoireau, who made part of the silver furnishings at Versailles. It comprises two pieces of red jasper and two large mounts with twenty cameos. The body is in the form of a bowl with a diminished arch profile, a round mouth, and a lobulated ring
The pair of a vessel stolen in 1918, this is one of the few pieces which still preserve work by Pierre Ladoyreau or Ladoireau, one of the great master craftsmen of the 17th century in France, who designed furnishing and bronzes for the palace and gardens of Versailles. It is made up of two pieces of stone, sixteen cameos and three large enamelled gold mounts. The decoration of the mounts, similar
This table`s exquisitely made top is based on a painting by Charles-Joseph Flipart (1721-1797) which is also in the Prado (P07824). The central scene depicts figures in a port, of which the two in the oriental style are based on works by Giambattista Tiepolo. The table was made by Italian craftsmen summoned to Madrid by Charles III to establish the Royal Hardstone Laboratory.
Described in the 1689 inventory of the Dauphin’s Cabinet as a vase “in the antique style”, this is an example of the prevailing fashion in the 1680s. The decoration of enamelled leaves in the adornments combines floral motifs covered in enamelling of the same metallic colour with a variety of stones, an aesthetic solution deriving from collections of engravings. The use of cameos serves to lend th
This tabletop forms a pair with O00467. Both were made at the Royal Manufactory founded by Charles III in Naples in 1737. This piece of ebony furniture made by Gaspero Donnini has heads carved by Giovanni Morghen at its four corners. They allude to the four seasons. The legs end in horse´s hooves as part of an elegant naturalist décor, which is repeated in the decoration of the top, with ab
Vessel made up of three pieces of heliotrope and four gold mounts. The bowl has an oblong mouth and four broad gadroons separated by four narrower ones. It opens out towards the middle to become slightly bell-shaped. At each end, two male masks in chased gold hold a rope pattern ring in their mouths. It is attached to the stem by means of a gold mount with incised floral decoration and C-shaped ad
A vessel made up of five pieces, the body of serpentine and the rest of heliotrope. By means of a silver gilt volute and a circle of rubies and diamonds in the form of a collar, an eagle’s head has been added, its feathers repeated on the enamel of the mount, which also features a string of gemstones. The stem rests on a flat foot. This part is enriched by four mounts with feuillages, and another
Vessel made up of four pieces of heliotrope and five gold mounts enamelled in opaque sky blue, turquoise, white and black, and translucent green. The irregular body has the form of a scallop shell, with marked gadroons and incisions parallel to the lip, and crudely carved ovals around the rim. On the sides are two small monolithic handles surmounted by enamelled gold mounts representing the heads
The coffer is a key item in any study of French silverware and European collecting. Initially part of Cardinal Mazarin’s collection, on his death it was sold at auction, subsequently being acquired by the Grand Dauphin. The gold crafting links this piece to a group of works associated with the so-called Maestro of Dragons, Pierre Delabarre, a Parisian silversmith who qualified as a master craftsma
Mutilated during the Peninsular War and the robbery of 1918, the volumes of this vessel can now only be appreciated from the case and a historic photograph. It is notable both for the stone used, heliotrope, and for the important enamelled gold mounts which substantially enriched its design. It consists of an oval body with a deep boat-shaped profile and eight large waves or gadroons. It has a dom
