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UnknownPair of Florentine commesso tiles Florence, first half 17th century1600s
1600s
$16,140.81
£11,949.07
€13,500
CA$22,334.85
A$24,623.66
CHF 12,882.30
MX$302,086.57
NOK 162,162.69
SEK 151,647.76
DKK 102,834.72
About the Item
Pair of tiles in clerical stone and rare marble on black comparison ground. On a shelf of gray marble rest two similarly shaped bi-anodized Medici vases in which two floral arrangements of different species are placed. The two commesso paintings are set in a gilded bronze frame from the late 19th century.
The Florentine commesso was born in the second half of the 16th century, following the humanistic revival of the Roman technique of opus sectile, an artistic procedure that used cut marble to make inlaid floor and wall decorations. The technique of commesso, characterized by the use of colored marble and semi-precious stones, saw in Florence a predilection for the latter, which were used to create beautiful compositions of naturalistic subjects with flowers, animals and fruits, as well as city views or copies of famous paintings, skillfully juxtaposed in such a way as to achieve results very close to painting. Unlike in Rome, where this technique would find application almost exclusively as architectural cladding, in the Tuscan capital commesso was used in the context of both liturgical furnishings (frontals) and luxury public and private furnishings, including, for example, the making of table tops, cabinets, and paintings. With the aim of creating artistic objects of absolute value, destined to furnish grand ducal residences or to be offered as gifts, in 1588 Ferdinando I de' Medici established the Opificio delle pietre dure in Florence, bringing together in a single manufactory the artisans in the sector active at the court. This institution, still working in the field of restoration today, continued its activity under the Lorraine dynasty, engaging for more than three centuries, until the end of the 19th century, in the decoration of the Chapel of the Princes in San Lorenzo, keeping the executive technique substantially unchanged.
It is within this cultural context and production strand that the two panels under consideration see the light of day, born in the first half of the seventeenth century they may have been intended to adorn the doors of a cabinet or tabernacle.
In this regard, the comparison with the tabernacle preserved in Madrid at the Palacio Real and published by Gonzalez-Placios is interesting. The door tile features a vase quite similar to one of the two studied here; it differs in the orange shelf and flower arrangement. The tabernacle was made in Naples by silversmith Menico Montini in 1619; we do not know the name of the stone mason; most likely the tiles were brought in from Florence.
Similar subjects are also found on the doors of several cabinets such as the one preserved in Villa La Petraia in Florence and the one in Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen.
- Creation Year:1600s
- Dimensions:Height: 6.7 in (17 cm)Width: 4.93 in (12.5 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU680316885992
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