A PAIR OF ITALIAN PIETRA DURA PANELS
Florence, probably late 19th century, the moulded frames probably later
Each depicting a fruiting and blossoming orange tree, amongst sprays of bluebells, all issuing from an ormolu-mounted and swagged jardiniere raised on a pedestal and within a balustraded border, in coloured marbles including lapis-lazuli, rosso antico and giallo antico, against a black paragone ground, the hanging loops, moulded border probably later, 126cm high, 64cm wide, (49 1/2in high, 25in wide), each (2)
Footnotes:
Provenance: Acquired from the French trade, Paris, September 1990.

The Art of Pietra Dura:
From the mid-16th century the art of pietra dura, literally 'hard stones' in Italian, was widespread in Italy. Florence became the most important centre for this art. The leading patrons were members of the Medici family, including Cosimo I (r. 1569-74), his son Francesco (r. 1574-87), and Cosimo's brother Ferdinand I (r. 1587-1609), who formally established the Grand Ducal workshop, the Galleria dei Lavori, in 1588. The artistic creations in stone were admired at all European courts and often offered as diplomatic gifts by the Medici.

A Design for the Medici:
The present panels relate to an important early 17th century group whose design has been attributed to the Florentine architect and sculptor Matteo Nigetti (1560/70 - 1648). The group of panels were commissioned by the Medici family for the Villa del Poggio Imperiale, just outside Florence. By 1691, the walls of the oratory of the Villa were recorded as being decorated with pietra dura panels of orange trees in jardinieres and flower-filled vases.

Later History of the Medici Panels:
When the Poggio Imperiale was dismantled in the late 18th century (to be reconstructed in a neoclassical style) the pietra dura panels were put into storage. By 1789 eleven of the panels are recorded in an inventory of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. A photograph of circa 1865-70, shows six of these panels on display in the 'Sala di ostensione' at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (see comparative image). The panels on display c. 1865-70 were two with blossoming orange trees on light ground, two flower-filled vases on a dark ground, and a further two flower-filled vases on dark ground mounted into a cabinet. The Galleria dei Lavori (later called the Opificio delle Pietre Dure) suffered a significant financial crisis after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and was forced to sell off its collections, including part of this series of panels. Two panels were acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum (then called the South Kensington Museum) at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. An additional seven were sold shortly afterward to private buyers. Today six examples are extant in Museum collections: two at the Opificio, two at the Victoria and Albert Museum, one at the Fine Art Museum, San Fransisco and another at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida.

Origin of the Present Panels:
Hardstone workshops were particularly active in Florence in the 18th and 19th centuries, meeting the considerable demand established by collectors and travellers on the Grand Tour and using famous models at the Opificio as inspiration. It is possible that this was the origin story of the present panels. There are four known pietra dura panels from the original Medici group, depicting orange trees, on a pale ground. One of these is at the V&A and a further three were illustrated in an unnamed collection (see comparative image and Jean Lévêque (ed.), Jansen, Un Siècle de l'Histoire de Paris, 1971, pp.70-71). The example now at the V&A would have been widely viewed when exhibited at the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. Following the sales of these panels from the Opificio, this particular design must have become known and copied. It is possible that following the sale of the panels from the Opificio, the present panels were made.

Related Panels in Museum Collections:
•Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence: two early 17th century examples depicting flower-filled vases on black ground.
•Victoria and Albert Museum, London: two early 17th century examples, one depicting an orange tree on a light ground and the other a flower-filled vase on a dark ground, acquired at the 1867 Paris Exposition, (810:1 to 3-1869).
•Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida: a single early 17th century example depicting a flower-filled vase on a dark ground and mounted on an iron base.
•The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: a single early 17th century example depicting a flower-filled vase on a dark ground, (2005-10-20), previously sold The Property of a Gentleman, Christie's, London, 10 June 2004, lot 27 (£386,050).

Other Known Examples:
•Three panels depicting orange trees on a light ground, possibly early 17th century examples, are recorded as mounted into the walls of an unnamed interior (see Jean Lévêque (ed.), Jansen, Un Siècle de l'Histoire de Paris, Bobigny, 1971, pp.70-71).
•A pair of panels depicting orange trees on black ground, sold Sotheby's, London, 27 November and 11 December, 1987, lot 221 ($77,000), catalogued as 'A fine pair of Florentine Pietre-Dure Panels, circa 1700'.
•A single example depicting a pear tree on pale yellow ground sold Property of a European Collector, Sotheby's, New York, 22 May 1997, lot 157 ($189,500) catalogued as 'An Italian baroque pietre dure table top, late 17th century'.

Related Literature:
List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1869, London, p. 61.
Giusti, Annamaria, 'Panel depicting a blossoming orange tree', in Koeppe, Wolfram, ed., Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe, (exh. cat.), New York, 2008, pp. 178-81.
Acidini Luchinat, Cristina et al., essays by, The Medici, Michelangelo & The Art of Late Renaissance Florence, (exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago) New Haven and London, 2002, pp. 264-5.
Giusti Annamaria, 'Pannello con vaso di fiori' in Splendori di pietre dure; L'arte di Corte nella Firenze dei Granduchi, (exh. cat. Palazzo Pitti, Florence, 1989), Florence 1988, pp. 138-39.
Chiarini, Marco & Acidini Luchinat, Cristina Bizzarrie di pietre dipinte dalle collezioni dei Medici, (exh. cat, Opificio delle Pietre Dure/Galleria dell'Accademia, 2000-2001), p. 104.
Die Pracht der Medici, (exh. cat, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstifung, Munich: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; Chateau de Blois, 1998-1999), Munich & Vienna, 1998, p. 251, nos. A31-32.
Colle, Enrico, Arredi dalle Dimore Medicee, Florence, 1993, p. 21.
Ferdinando Rossi, La Pittura di Pietre, dall'arte del mosaico allo splendore delle pietre dure, Florence 2002, p.120.
Jean Lévêque (ed.), Jansen, Un Siècle de l'Histoire de Paris, Bobigny, 1971, pp.70-71.


We are grateful to Prof. Dott. Annamaria Giusti, former Chief Curator of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro in Florence, and authority on Pietra Dura for her kind help and opinion on the preparation of this catalogue entry.
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