Hard stone board on wooden table; Spain, Charles IV, c. 1800.

Hard stone board on wooden table; Spain, Charles IV, c. 1800.
Painted and partially gilded wood.
Presents gilding of later period.
90 plates as a sample book
Measurements: 60 x 84 x 43 cm; 43 x 84 x 3 cm.
Hard stone board on wooden table of neoclassical style, with legs carved as a shaft with the grooves marked in gilding. In the upper area of rectangular format, the hard pieces board is placed. This presents a design composed of a grid of 90 different hard stones and in the center a large medallion decorated with a landscape inside.
The technique known as hard stone work is a type of inlay that uses colored marbles and hard stones and was born in Florence. Thanks to the efforts of Piero de Medici and Lorenzo the Magnificent to revitalize and update a mosaic technique, called opus sectile used in ancient Rome. In the 17th century France was the first court to show a clear interest in the hard stone technique, establishing centers among which the Gobelins factory stood out. In Italy, the Royal workshop of Naples stood out, which took over from Florence when the Medici disappeared. Charles III in Spain brought several foreign masters with the intention of organizing a workshop, which was installed in the Royal site of El Buen Retiro. Stylistically there was a great variety of decorative motifs, although from 1600 there was a clear preference for natural aesthetic patterns to which other zoomorphic motifs were added over time.