Art of the Royal Court : Treasures in Pietre

This beautiful catalogue provides a comprehensive history of pietre dure, a virtuoso form of hardstone carving that reached an artistic peak in Italy in the 16th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The demanding practice of pietre dure, first used in ancient times, enjoyed a spectacular revival in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. By artistic cutting, semiprecious stonesagate, lapis lazuli, chalcedony, and other colorful hardstoneswere fashioned into extravagantly designed luxury objects such as table tops, wall panels, cabinets, and ornate display vessels. Both as objects of desire and as diplomatic gifts, these precious creations captivated the affluent societies of Europe. Art of the Royal Courtpresents 150 masterpieces of pietre dure, many of which are further embellished with gold and silver mounts or decorated with exotic woods and other coveted materials.

Annamaria Giusti is Chief Curator at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro, Florence. Wolfram Koeppe is curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Role of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure
Mysterious and Prized: Hardstones in Human History before the Renaissance	p. 1
Roman Inlay and Florentine Mosaics: The New Art of Pietre Dure	p. 12
The Castrucci and the Miseroni: Prague, Florence, Milan	p. 28
Pierres fines: The Manufacture of Hardstone Works at the Gobelins under Louis XIV	p. 40
Pietre Dure North of the Alps	p. 54
Sculpture and Mosaic in Pietre Dure	p. 70
An Enduring Seductiveness: The Reclaiming of Pietre Dure in the Eighteenth Century	p. 84
The Opificio delle Pietre Dure: Half a Millennium	p. 94
Catalogue
Origins: cat. nos. 1-6	p. 103
Italy through the Seventeenth Century: cat. nos. 7-64	p. 113
Northern Europe, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: cat. nos. 65-102	p. 217
Italy and Spain, Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries: cat. nos. 103-129	p. 283
The Reclaiming of Pietre Dure: cat. nos. 130-139	p. 327
Sweden and Russia, Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries: cat. nos. 140-144	p. 347
Pietre Dure as an Artistic Medium: cat. nos. 145-147, and note on the making of pietre dure	p. 359
Glossary	p. 369
Bibliography	p. 371
Index	p. 393
Photograph and Copyright Credits	p. 412
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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Art of the Royal Court : Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe

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