Stone mosaic (commesso) tabletop with parrot, probably Florence, 1650

Rectangular Stone mosaic (commesso) tabletop with pietre dure and marble, the design consisting of a cental cartouche with a parrot and four different types of plants spreading to the sides.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This table top celebrates nature, a popular subject in Florentine commessi. The interwoven foliage and flowers are precisely depicted, in keeping with Renaissance ideals of knowledge and classification. From the time of Cosimo I de’ Medici the Elder (1389-1464), the Medici showed a profound passion for botanical art and science. In 1577, Grand Duke Francesco I (r.1574-1587) commissioned from the painter Jacopo Ligozzi (1547-1627) a series of life-like paintings of the exotic and indigenous plants and birds which were produced over a period of ten years. These include, in particular, a bright green parakeet (Psittacula krameri) perched on the branch of a European plum tree (Prunus domestica), very similar to the motif seen on this table-top. From 1588 onwards Ligozzi was required to provide numerous designs for craftsmen of the Medici court, the goldsmiths, jewellers, cabinet-makers, embroiderers and mosaicists of the Galleria Dei Lavori and became the Director of these workshops from 1620 until his death. His motifs of branches of fruit, vines, birds and flowers which ranged from single blossoms to bouquets arranged in vases, became the enduring emblems of Florentine commessi.

Spotlight on Conservation
The lavish ornament of this table is composed of ancient Roman stones called giallo antico and rosso antico. Both types of marble were extracted in the Roman Empire. Over time, these ancient quarries were lost and artists working with these stones from the Renaissance and Baroque periods (about 1450 to 1750) were in fact reusing material salvaged from ancient ruins.

The abundant foliage is made with verde d’arno, a stone found along the river Arno in Tuscany, which is prized for its vibrant shades of green and natural depiction of geometrical patterns. Although technically a soft stone, it has been often referred in the hardstone trade as ‘jasper’ for their visual similarities. Coral has also been selectively used for flourishes of intense colour, such as the red flower in full bloom at the bottom.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. Sir Arthur Gilbert was fascinated by the evolution of pietre dure and purposefully acquired 16th-century masterpieces as well as 20th-century creations.

To find out more about the making of pietre dure, watch the video Making a Pietre Dure panel: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/videos/m/video-making-a-pietre-dure-panel

LOAN:GILBERT.939-2008