Table with Inlaid Octagonal Top

Artist:Top: Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence. Base: George Bullock (Birmingham 1777 - Liverpool, 1818)

Date:1715-1720 (top) 1810-1815 (base)

Geographic area :Florence

Technique:tabletop: semi-precious stone mosaic; base: gilded wood and bronze


Description

Table with octagonal top decorated in Florentine mosaic work from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. The tabletop is lavishly inlaid with marble and semi-precious stone fruits, flowers, and birds set against a black touchstone background. Between the 17th and the 18th century, the Grand Duchy’s style was set by Giovanni Battista Foggini, sculptor and ornamentist, and director of the prestigious institution from 1695 to 1725. Geometrical figures were rarely used in Florence, but an extremely famous precedent is the table in the Tribuna degli Uffizi, crafted several decades before. The base, sculpted by George Bullock at the beginning of the 19th century, is made of gilded wood with four griffins and gilded bronze decorations.