Inset overall with various marble and hardstones comprising lapis lazuli, diaspro di Sicilia, diaspro indio, diaspro rosso, diaspro di Corsica, and diaspro di Volterra, amethyst, chalcedony and other agates, within a Belgian black marble surround, decorated with ribbon-tied fruiting foliage, the shaped rectangular moulded hinged top with canted angles, centred by a bird perched on a branch amidst cherries and flowerheads, enclosing a crimson red velvet-lined interior, on scrolled feet, the vine mounts 17th century and possibly associated, the brass leaftip border mounts later
7¹⁄₂ in. (19 cm.) high; 14¹⁄₂ in. (37 cm.) wide; 11¹⁄₂ in. (29 cm.) deep

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 6 July 2012, lot 4 (£145,250).

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Lot Essay

The design of this impressive casket, richly inlaid with naturalistic pietra dura panels of fruit and foliage, can be firmly ascribed to the Galleria dei Lavori, or Grand Ducal Workshops and was probably made under the supervision of Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725), director of the workshops under Duke Cosimo Ill (1670-1723). The workshops were originally established by Ferdinando I de Medici in 1588, and were intended to glorify the artistry of Florence by the creation of exquisite works of art in rare and precious materials. These works were admired in all the courts of Europe, and the workshop was later to be emulated by Louis XIV when he set up the Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris, where the Italian Domenico Cucci was one of the leading cabinet-makers.

The simple rectangular form of the present casket offered large, flat surfaces on which to display the superior skills of the fruttista, whose responsibility was the manufacture of the distinctive polished fruit seen on the top and sides. Closely related caskets with pietre dure panels in relief, which were often given as diplomatic gifts, include one in the Vyne, Hampshire (National Trust, inv. no. 718777) and others illustrated in A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto: La Toscana e L'Italia Settentrionale, Milan, 1986, vol. II, p. 60-63, figs. 73 and 83. The bird perched on a laurel branch seen on this casket can also be found on the magnificent cabinet made for the Elector Palatine to designs by Foggini in the Palazzo Pitti (inv. no. 909). A further example of this motif can be found on a casket, attributed to Foggini, in the Kunstgewerbemuseum and another sold Christie’s, London, 5 July 2012, lot 13 for £657,250, and Christie's London, 7 July 2022, lot 2 (£69,300).

The present casket is also reminiscent in style, particularly to the treatment of the fruit and feet, to a casket in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (ill. Anna Maria Giusti, Pietre Dure: Hardstone in Furniture and Decorations, Ann Arbor, 1992, p. 110, fig.29). Related caskets from the Grand Ducal Workshops recently sold at auction include one sold Christie's, London, 7 July 2005, lot 342 (£50,400 with premium) and another sold Christie's, London, 12 December 2002, lot 20 (£171,600 with premium).