Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection

The technique of Hardstone mosaic was developed in the sixteenth century under the patronage of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, in parallel with the revival of Roman mosaics made from tiny tesserae. Complex images were created from a matrix of coloured marbles and semiprecious stones, selected and cut with breathtaking craftsmanship. During the seventeenth century the technique was used in the production of some of the most magnificent luxury objects in Italy; in the eighteenth century, panels of landscapes, birds and flowers were incorporated into furniture and snuffboxes. This gave way in the nineteenth century to the production of pictures in extraordinarily convincing imitation of oil paintings.