CIRCA 1870

The art of inlaying coloured semiprecious stones similar to wood marquetry was developed and reached it's apogee in the Grand Ducal Medici court in Florence. The court fostered the activity of a wide range of artists in the manufacture of luxurious furnishings for the Grand Dukes, for foreign royalty, and the Medici mausoleum in the church of San Lorenzo. During the second half of the 19th century the Court workshops declined, but at the same time there was a proliferation of private workshops, many of whom exhibited and won prizes at the numerous International Exhibitions. At this time the works were often on a hinged stand to be displayed like a painting and similar pieces are still in evidence in a photograph of the stand of Giovanni Ugolini at the Paris Exposition Universelle as late as 1900.
A very similar table from The Gilbert Collection is illustrated in Anna Maria Massinelli, Hardstones, London, 2000, fig.36.