An Italian pietre dure pictorial plaque
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An Italian pietre dure pictorial plaque

IN THE MANNER OF GIOVANNI MONTELATICI

Details
An Italian pietre dure pictorial plaque
In the manner of Giovanni Montelatici
Depicting a seated man drinking a glass of wine, his dog to his side, a woman pouring wine from a barrel into bottles; in a black wooden frame
The plaque: 21½ in. (55 cm.) high; 26¾ in. (68 cm.) wide;
The frame: 28¾ in. (73 cm.) high; 34¼ in. (87 cm.) wide
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis
Sale room notice
Please note that this Pietre Dure plaque is after a painting entitled Cantina by Francesco Vinea (1845-1902).
An identical micromosaic plaque, entitled Cantina, is in The Gilbert Collection and can be viewed in their catalogue Micromosaics in the Gilbert Collection page 168, reference 100.

Lot Essay

The art of Pietre Dure is a mosaic technique perfected in Florence at the end of the 16th Century and still practised there. It employs hard, rare and semiprecious stones cut with great precision into thin sheets, shaped then fitted together with almost invisible join lines. Natural markings in the stone are used to achieve effects of chiaroscuro, perspective and pattern. This technique originated in the opus sectile of the ancient world.

From the 17th century onwards, craftsmen of the Grand Ducal workshops in Florence have tried to make their work look as much like brush painting as possible. According to Antonio Zobi (A. Zobi, Notizie storische sull'origine e progressi dei lavori di commesso in pietre dure nell'I. e R. Stabilimento di Firenze, Stamperia Granducale, Florence, 1853), 'The time at which real painting began to be imitated in Florence with natural coloured stones inlaid in mosaic to portray objects as if they had been painted with a paint brush' is discussed in a document dated 1597 and relating to a portrait of Cosimo da Medici by the painter Cresti, painting which was given to a stoneworker, Francesco Ferrucci, to be copied into a mosaic picture. Pietre dure enjoyed great popularity through the centuries until the first quarter of the 19th century, where it went out of fashion until circa 1880. The revival of interest for pietre dure is due to the skilful mosaicist, Giovanni Montelatici, who's works were selling successfully to foreign buyers. His production covered just about every subject, favouring sentimental domestic scenes with glimpses of rural life.

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