A casket decorated with hardstone marquetry attributed to Domenico Benotti, master craftsman at the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Made of ebony and ebony veneer, inlaid with polychrome semi-precious stones such as agate, lapis lazuli, jasper, chalcedony, carnelian and serpentine <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florence, second half of the 17th century, circa 1650\u20131660<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dimensions : H 21,5 cm L 33,5 cm P 30 cm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hardstone inlay panels, decorated with flowers, fruit and birds against a background of black marble edged with yellow marble, were the signature creations of the Galleria de\u2019 Lavori, which was renamed the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in the mid-19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The design adorning the lid, depicting a parrot in a hoop holding cherries, bears a resemblance to another work from a series by Domenico Benotti, dated 1655 and now in the Prado Museum in Madrid (Inv. O00858).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Benotti was one of the leading masters of the Grand Ducal workshop between 1640 and 1675.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two designs adorning the sides, featuring a stylised motif with a fruit-laden branch tied into a knot and centred either on a snail or a lizard, are also reminiscent of another casket presented as a diplomatic gift to Oliver Cromwell in 1656 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand de\u2019 Medici (Cromwell Museum). The pietre dure on this casket are therefore almost certainly also the work of Benotti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is therefore highly likely that the casket was made by this Florentine master of pietre dure, given the compositions, the use of stones and the quality of the workmanship, and it can be dated to between 1650 and 1660.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Coffret orn\u00e9 de marqueteries de pierres dures attribu\u00e9es \u00e0 Domenico Benotti, maitre aux Ateliers Grands Ducaux de Florence En \u00e9b\u00e8ne et placage d’\u00e9b\u00e8ne, incrustation de pierres dures polychromes telles qu’agate, lapis lazuli, jaspes, calc\u00e9doines, cornalines et serpentine Florence, Seconde moiti\u00e9 du XVIIe si\u00e8cle, Vers 1650-1660 Dimensions : H 21,5 cm L 33,5 cm P 30 cm … <\/p>\n