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Lot Essay
The plaques on this casket are undoubtedly from the great lapidary workshops in Prague established by Rudolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor. They can almost certainly be attributed to either Cosimo or his son Giovanni Castrucci. In 1588, Grand Duke Ferdinand I de' Medici had reorganized the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. This workshop, specializing in cut and polished hardstones, also raised the art of stone inlay, or commesso di pietre dure, to a previously unknown technical level. Soon both the Grand Ducal products and even the workshop itself were the envy of every ruling monarch in Europe. Ferdinand gave Rudolph a pietre dure table top in 1589 and Rudolph then ordered his own which was delivered in 1597, becoming one of the Emperor's most prized possessions. Rudolph, however, was not content merely collecting hardstone objects for his famous Kunstkammer but wanted to produce them as well. With the arrival of Cosimo Castrucci and Giovanni, recorded in Prague in 1596 and 1598 respectively, the production of pietre dure plaques began to be identified with the Prague workshops. In 1610, probably after the death of Cosimo, Giovanni was named Kammer-Edelsteinschneider of the Imperial Treasury. All of the Castrucci plaques can be dated from the late 1590's to 1615, and of those listed in the Imperial inventory of 1607-16, all were attributed to Giovanni (see A.M. Giusti, Hardstone Decoration in Furniture and Decorations, London, 1992, p.140).
Most of the Castrucci plaques were mounted into cabinets, caskets and house altars made from ebony which framed the plaques. The small table cabinet or casket in the Gilbert Collection is one comparable piece to the present lot (see A.M. Massinelli, The Gilbert Collection: Hardstones, London, 2000, no.1). The present lot, however, with its silver mounts and dense arrangement of additional hardstones coating the surface was possibly assembled by lapidary and metal workers, rather than cabinetmakers. A close comparison is the Liechtenstein casket, with its many Castrucci plaques mounted in gilt metal and surrounded by other semi-precious stones, was also probably made by artisans specializing in stonecutting and metalwork (see Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections, exh. cat., New York, 1985, pp.42-45). This use of silver framing and the jewel-like setting of the hardstones relates to the most sophisticated caskets being produced in Italy at the end of the 16th century.
While the Florentines rarely made pietre dure landscape designs, Prague produced almost exclusively these architectural and landscape scenes. And although both the materials and craftsmanship of the casket were linked to the Florentine workshops, the design and subject matter of the individual plaques drew their inspiration from distinctly Northern sources. In particular, Flemish artisans and painters exerted a powerful influence on the decorative and fine arts purchased and commissioned by Rudolphs's court. The celebrated gold and silversmiths Jan Vermeyen and Paulus van Vianen and the painters Bartolomäus Spranger, Pieter Stevens and Roelant Savery, all were drawn to Prague. The landscape paintings of Savery and Stevens, many of which were engraved by Johannes Sadeler and his nephew, Aegidius the Younger, in particular, were a direct source of inspiration for the Castrucci's plaques. There is only one landscape plaque, which bears the Imperial coat-of-arms and is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, that can be identified as having been copied directly from a Sadeler print (see A.M. Giusti, op. cit., pp.139 and 141). Yet nearly all of the Castrucci city and landscapes bear a very close resemblance to the paintings and prints of Stevens and Savery. These are characterized by steep, thickly forested mountains, river gorges, often with fortress and farmhouse ruins and occasionally solitary figures (see Prag um 1600, exh. cat., Essen, 1988, pp.380-386 and 427). The atmospheric conditions of the paintings is rendered by the careful use of varying shades and patterns of the stones to simulate light and shadow, texture, receding backgrounds and other painterly techniques.
These plaques here are simpler in composition than many of the others produced by the Castrucci. However, the presence of seven landscape plaques on a single object, when considering the small number made during such a short time period, make this a rare find from the long-dispersed court workshops of Rudolph II, when Prague was creating some of the most original and technically superior hardstone objects in Europe.
Most of the Castrucci plaques were mounted into cabinets, caskets and house altars made from ebony which framed the plaques. The small table cabinet or casket in the Gilbert Collection is one comparable piece to the present lot (see A.M. Massinelli, The Gilbert Collection: Hardstones, London, 2000, no.1). The present lot, however, with its silver mounts and dense arrangement of additional hardstones coating the surface was possibly assembled by lapidary and metal workers, rather than cabinetmakers. A close comparison is the Liechtenstein casket, with its many Castrucci plaques mounted in gilt metal and surrounded by other semi-precious stones, was also probably made by artisans specializing in stonecutting and metalwork (see Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections, exh. cat., New York, 1985, pp.42-45). This use of silver framing and the jewel-like setting of the hardstones relates to the most sophisticated caskets being produced in Italy at the end of the 16th century.
While the Florentines rarely made pietre dure landscape designs, Prague produced almost exclusively these architectural and landscape scenes. And although both the materials and craftsmanship of the casket were linked to the Florentine workshops, the design and subject matter of the individual plaques drew their inspiration from distinctly Northern sources. In particular, Flemish artisans and painters exerted a powerful influence on the decorative and fine arts purchased and commissioned by Rudolphs's court. The celebrated gold and silversmiths Jan Vermeyen and Paulus van Vianen and the painters Bartolomäus Spranger, Pieter Stevens and Roelant Savery, all were drawn to Prague. The landscape paintings of Savery and Stevens, many of which were engraved by Johannes Sadeler and his nephew, Aegidius the Younger, in particular, were a direct source of inspiration for the Castrucci's plaques. There is only one landscape plaque, which bears the Imperial coat-of-arms and is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, that can be identified as having been copied directly from a Sadeler print (see A.M. Giusti, op. cit., pp.139 and 141). Yet nearly all of the Castrucci city and landscapes bear a very close resemblance to the paintings and prints of Stevens and Savery. These are characterized by steep, thickly forested mountains, river gorges, often with fortress and farmhouse ruins and occasionally solitary figures (see Prag um 1600, exh. cat., Essen, 1988, pp.380-386 and 427). The atmospheric conditions of the paintings is rendered by the careful use of varying shades and patterns of the stones to simulate light and shadow, texture, receding backgrounds and other painterly techniques.
These plaques here are simpler in composition than many of the others produced by the Castrucci. However, the presence of seven landscape plaques on a single object, when considering the small number made during such a short time period, make this a rare find from the long-dispersed court workshops of Rudolph II, when Prague was creating some of the most original and technically superior hardstone objects in Europe.