Lot Essay
The design of this vase is illustrated in the Great Exhibition Catalogue of 1851 (CLASS 27. MANUFACTURES IN MINERAL SUBSTANCES P. 770.)
The art of pietra dura, developed in Florence and expertly mastered by the Ducal workshops of the Medici, was also crafted in Derbyshire, where the variety of naturally occuring marbles and limestones could be incorporated. Thomas Woodruff of Bakewell was a leading exponent of the craft and exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1851.
The art of pietra dura, developed in Florence and expertly mastered by the Ducal workshops of the Medici, was also crafted in Derbyshire, where the variety of naturally occuring marbles and limestones could be incorporated. Thomas Woodruff of Bakewell was a leading exponent of the craft and exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1851.