Intarsio in pietra
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Pietra dura table top from Rome, late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. Its fitted coloured stones demonstrate stone marquetry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 62.259. Source
Description
Stone marquetry assembles shaped pieces into fitted images or patterns. Natural colours, veins and markings provide lines, shadows and detail. It is related to inlay and mosaic, though these terms cover different methods. Commesso in pietre dure is a closely fitted tradition associated particularly with Florence.
History
Fitted-stone decoration developed into an elaborate court art in sixteenth-century Italy and spread through Europe. Tabletops and panels combined selected marbles and hardstones to produce geometric and pictorial compositions.
Commissioning
The subject, palette, size and final location should be agreed before detailed stone selection. The maker should explain the backing, border and jointing. Natural variation in the chosen stones is part of the composition and can be reviewed through samples.