Ebonised, gilded wood, and pietre dure collector's cabinet; Castrucci workshop, Prague, about 1610.

A rectilinear collector's cabinet with a pyramidal roof, on four lion's paw feet, the front and sides set with seven pictorial stone (Bohemian jaspers) mosaic panels (commessi) depicting landscapes, buildings and a Venetian canal scene.

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

This cabinet was produced by the renowned Castrucci workshop. Originally from Florence, the Castrucci family settled in Prague and worked under the patronage of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II (r. 1576-1612). Their use of local stones from the territories of Bohemia, most notably a wide array of jaspers, made their creations particularly prized in European courts. The quality of their work became a statement of the splendour of Rudolph’s dominion, expressed through his empire’s natural resources. Castrucci productions inspired the grand ducal workshops (Galleria dei Lavori) which imitated their landscapes, and traded Bohemian jaspers, quartz and amethysts to incorparte into their stone mosaics (commessi). The construction of the cabinet itself is typical of 17th-century northern European production. The use of South Baden jasper for the columns framing the central commesso panel suggest that it may have been made in Germany to accommodate the magnificent Castrucci landscapes.

The landscape scenes were inspired by engravings by the Flemish artist Aegidius Sadeler (1570-1629), in turn taken from designs by Pieter Stevens (circa 1567- died after 1624). Both artists were based at the royal Prague workshops in the early 17th century.

The left front of the cabinet is mounted with a view of Krumau/Cesky Krumlov in Bohemia with two hooded monks under a stone arch in the foreground.

Rudolph Distelberger attributed the panels to Cosimo Castrucci the Elder, circa 1610 when he examined them in Los Angeles in 1988.

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. He donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. Arthur Gilbert was also 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.72-2008