17th Century Furniture (part 20 of 31)

Boulle Marquetry
Originating in Italy during the 10th century, where it was known as tarsia a incastro, meaning a combining of materials. Italian craftsmen are thought to have introduced to technique to France in around 1600 when they produced work for Marie de Medici, Henri IV's second wife. Pierre Gole, a cabinet maker from the Low Countries, is also credited with first using the technique in France.

Matching Pairs
Handmade furniture decorating with Boullework was quite often made in pairs, mainly because the process of cutting out the materials resulted in two complete sets of the marquetry design. Boulle marquetry was very time consuming, and making one set of designs, the premiere-partie, also produced an opposing set, the contre-partie - the most commonly seen examples are of matching cabinets.

Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732)
Cabinet maker to Louis XIV, Andre-Charles Boulle was responsible for many of the interior fittings and much of the furniture at the palace of Versailles.
Born in Paris, Boulle trained as a cabinet maker, an architect, a bronze worker, and engraver and obtained the royal privilege of lodging and working in the Louvre.
His most spectacular work perhaps was the design and creation of the of the mirrored walls, parquetry floors, inlaid panelling, and boullework non fitted furniture at the Palace of Versailles.
As well as Louis XIV, his patrons included many French dukes, King Philip V of Spain, and the Electors of both Bavaria and Cologne.
Boulle excelled at the marquetry that eventually took his name, although he was not the only cabinet maker developing this technique. His later designs were influenced by those of Jean Berain, an engraver who was also working at the Louvre, and it is often difficult to tell the work of the two craftsmen apart.
Berain usually incorporated swirling scrolls (arabesques) alongside figural images. His designs also have a more fanciful element than those of Boulle, with small grotesques and monkeys amongst the scrolling patterns. Very few pieces of furniture can definitely be attributed to Boulle himself.
Boulle was largely responsible for the development of new types of furniture, including the bureau and the commode, designs for which were published under the title Nouveaux Desseins de Meubles (New Designs of Furniture) and became widely known.

Louis XIV Boulle Commode
This commode is one of a pair made for Louis XIV's bedchamber at Trianon. It is veneered with ebony inlaid with brass. 17th century.

   

The Technique

To create Boulle marquetry, a design was first drawn up. Any wood being used, such as ebony, was cut into very thin slices to form a veneer. Tortoiseshell was flattened, then polished and often painted on the underside for colour.Any other materials were flattened in the same way, then cut into sheets the size of the marquetry pattern.

The tortoiseshell was then glued to a sheet of metal, such as pewter or brass, and wedged between two sheets of wood - like a sandwich. The design was then glued to one side of the 'sandwich' and the pattern was cut out of both the tortoiseshell and metal with a fretsaw. When the materials were separated from each other, the pieces of tortoiseshell and metal were sorted to form two marquetry sets - the brass details were set into the tortoiseshell background, known as the premiere-partie - and the tortoiseshell details were set into the brass background to form a reverse pattern, known as the contre-partie.

Once the marquetry veneer had been applied, the brass was engraved to add depth and detail. It was then rubbed down with sharkskin, which has a similar texture to sandpaper, and polished with a mixture of charcoal and oil. This process filled in the hollows of the engraving, making the design more pronounced.

The inner and outer panels of doors were frequently decorated in the same way. Sometimes Boulle used a mixture of both types of boullework on the same piece of furniture, now attempted with reproduction furniture The parts not decorated with boulle were often veneered in ebony, creating a striking contrast to the rest of the piece.

Finishing Touches

Boullework furniture was usually finished with gilded and engraved bronze mounts (known as ormolu). This was partly to protect the edges, legs, feet, and locks, which were the most vulnerable areas, and partly for decoration. The mounts were not usually made by the cabinet makers themselves, but by specialist foundries, which cast and shaped the metal before it was gilded.

Jean Berain (1638-1711)

A draughtsman, painter, designer, and engraver from the Low Countries, Jean Berain was appointed designer to Louis XIV in 1674. His workshop in the Louvre was near to that of Boulle, for whom he created many designs. During Louis XV's reign, Berain provided designs for furniture, weapons, theatrical costumes and sets, and even funeral processions. 

Marquetry patterns with arabesques, scrolled foliage, or fanciful scenes were features of his work, and like Andre Boulle, he was inspired by Renaissance and Classical designs. The term 'berainesque' was coined to describe designs based on his inimitable style.

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Popular Styles
Louis XIV handmade furniture was an expression of the wealth and power of the king, and lavish materials were used, such as exotic woods, silver and gilt, pietra dura panels, imported lacquer, and Boulle marquetry.
Motifs drew on Renaissance decoration, including mythological creatures, grotesques, arabesques, and flora and fauna.
Etiquette changed and comfort became more important. Chair backs were lower and most seats had a wooden frame with leather or cloth upholstery fixed in place with brass-headed nails. The fauteuil, an armchair with open sides, became popular, as did the canape or couch. The arms and legs of chairs incorporated more carved detail than previously, displaying the carvers skills and showing that he was familiar with the latest designs.
Guests were received in the bedroom. The finest beds had a plume of feathers, known as panache, at each corner, and a balustrade separated the occupant from the visitors. Louis XIV's bed was raised on a dais.
Towards the end of the century, the buffet, a two-tiered cupboard with four doors, two above and two below, evolved into the armoire, which had two tall doors. The chest, or coffer, was replaced by the commode, a case piece on short legs with either doors (two) or drawers, which became more formal towards the end of the century.

This panel depicts Louis XIV in his formal bedroom receiving visitors, according to the etiquette of the time. Note the state bed and the sumptuous surroundings. c.1670

The console table was very popular and was generally heavily gilded. It was decorated on three sides, but not at the back, as the table was usually placed against a wall, like fitted furniture.
Smaller tables, often made of fruitwood, were often painted. Their uses varied - some of them held candlesticks or writing paper, others were used as informal dining tables.

Bureau Plat
This bureau plat, designed by Andre-Charles Boulle for the Palace of versailles, is decorated with fine marquetry in tortoiseshell, bronze, and ebony and has three shallow drawers. There are elaborate ormolu mounts of women's busts at the four corners of the desk and the legs terminate in lion's paws. c.1708

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In the second half of the 17th century, the reign of the flamboyant Louis XIV (1643-1715), known as the Sun King, led to the creation of sumptuous palaces and furnishings that were emulated throughout Europe.
In 1662, a year after becoming King in his own right, Louis installed many of Europe's finest craftsmen in the former tapestry workshops of the Gobelin brothers on the outskirts of Paris. Modelled on the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence, these centres of excellence created mostly fitted furniture and fittings for the royal palaces and were also responsible for developing a unified design style that celebrated the glory of the King.

Royal Splendour
In 1682, Louis moved the French court into the Palace of Versailles. His favourite designer was Charles Le Brun, whose exuberant designs greatly impressed the King. Le Brun was responsible for many of the greatest rooms in Versailles, including the Hall of Mirrors.
Louis took a personal interest in the decoration and furnishing of his palace and much of the handmade furniture was embellished with visual references to him. The most common motifs were two interlaced 'L's', the fleur-de-lys, and the sunburst, Louis XIV's personal emblem.

The Edict Of Nantes
In 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, thereby ending religious tolerance for Protestants. Many French designers and craftsmen, including Daniel Marot and Pierre Gole, fled abroad. This exodus helped spread the influence of French design to the rest of Europe and North America.

Ivory-Veneered Cabinet On Stand
This piece of fine antique furniture is attributed to the Dutch cabinet maker Pierre Gole (1620-1684) for the Cabinet Blanc (the White Room) in the Palace of Versailles.
Veneered in ivory, which acts as a background for floral marquetry in tortoiseshell and various woods, this cabinet is testament to the technical expertise of the maker.
The upper section consists of a series of small drawers on either side of a central recess. Within the recess, enclosed by doors, are three more drawers, all profusely inlaid with marquetry on ivory.
The cabinet stands on six fluted legs, also veneered in ivory, which have ball feet and are joined by flat stretchers. c.1662

Louis XIV Giltwood Canape

The shaped arms and supports of this gilded canape are wrapped with carved acanthus leaves and have strapwork decoration. The six scroll legs with matching decoration are joined by a double x-stretcher surmounted by urn finials.

The canape would originally have been upholstered in needlework or figured velvet. c.1700

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Grand Designs
Furniture during the reign of Louis XIII was monumental and heavy in style. The cabinet, usually on a stand and housing various small drawers, was the most important piece of non fitted furniture of the time. Generally made of walnut or ebony, it would have been decorated with panels, columns, and pilasters.
Ebony veneered cabinets made late into Louis XIII reign are embellished with flat relief carving, carved flowers, and twisted columns. Inspired by Augsburg cabinets that were made in Germany, which used ebony and other exotic materials in a decorative fashion.

The cupboard or buffet was popular at this time, especially in the provinces. This form slowly evolved into an armoire, which was mainly used for storing linens, rather than for the display of expensive household items, such as silver plates or ceramics.
Fall fronts were then added to cabinets, as seen on the typical varguenos, producing an early form of bureau. Small tables intended for the less formal rooms of a house were made in many shapes, but were mostly oblong, with turned legs.

Dining tables now had tops that could be extended, either with hinges or by the use of telescoping leaves. The table bases were usually turned, and H-stretchers provided a popular method of linking the table legs.
Chairs became far more comfortable towards the end of Louis XIII reign, as seats grew lower and wider, and the backs of the chairs became higher. There was a greater emphasis on textiles in Louis XIII handmade furniture, although upholstery was so expensive at this time that only the finest pieces of furniture were covered with textiles. Cushions were used for additional comfort on wooden seats, and chairs made for the upper classes were often covered with fashionable upholstery.

Velvet, damask, leather and needlework were all used. The fabric was fixed into place with rows of small brass tacks, which also served as a decorative element of the chairs. Fringe was added below the back seat rail and along the lower chair rail as an extra embellishment.
Armrests were usually curved and sometimes incorporated an upholstered pad. Chair legs were carved in a sculptural way, similar to the elaborate legs of Brustolon's chairs, or they were turned.

Decorative Detail
The Low Countries, especially Flanders, had a very strong influence on French furniture of the period. Two features typical of Louis XIII furniture were inspired by Flemish furniture - the heavy, moulded panelling in geometric patterns and elaborate turning on legs and stretchers.
Turning was an essential feature of Louis XIII furniture, now antique furniture, both in formal and vernacular pieces. It was now no longer used simply for legs and stretchers, but also to create decorative details on cupboards and cabinets. A piece of furniture would quite often feature more than a single turned design.

Early 17th century oak coffer (chest)

Walnut Open Armchair

A Louis XIII open armchair with fine spiral twist columns

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France: Henri IV & Louis XIII
The early 17th century was a time of increasing prosperity in France, after a long period of war. Henri IV ruled a country in which styles had changed little since the Renaissance.
Keen to encourage new skills, he established a workshop for craftsmen in the Louvre Palace in 1608. The craftsmen he employed were Italian and Flemish (French craftsmen were sent to serve an apprenticeship in the Low Countries) and, protected by royal patronage, they were allowed to work in Paris without being subject to the punitive membership restrictions of the medieval guild of joiners and furniture makers.

Traditional Forms
The majority of handmade furniture was made of oak or walnut during the reign of Henri IV. The massive double-bodied cupboard with an upper section that was narrower than the lower section, doors with geometric panelling, and bun feet continued to be popular well into the 17th century.
Tables had elaborate heavy bases and chairs were architectural in form, which made then rather stiff and uncomfortable.

Foreign Influences
After Henri IV's death in 1610, his Italian wife Marie de Medici was appointed Regent to the young king. During her reign, there was a building boom in Paris and the nobility and a growing middle class began to furnish their apartments in grand style.
Marie was influential in now antique furniture design. She employed many foreign craftsmen, including Jean Mace, a cabinet maker from the Low Countries, who probably first used veneering in French furniture design, and Italian craftsmen, who introduced boullework and pietra dura inlays. In particular Marie de Medici encouraged the manufacture fitted and non fitted furniture - cabinets inlaid with ebony, which were made in Paris from around 1620 to 1630.

Court Cupboard
English 17th century Oak Court Cupboard, beautiful patina, herringbone inlay, forged hardware. Dated and initialed on upper frieze. C 1620

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Rebuilding London
A huge building boom after the great fire of London in 1666 led to specialization within the woodworking trades. Cabinet makers made case handmade furniture, stands and tables, while joiners - and the gilders and wood carvers who worked with them - concentrated on architectural features, bedsteads and mirror frames. Chair-making also became a specialist craft.
Trade between the Low Countries and England increased after the accession of William III and Mary in 1689.
The European influence on furniture was compounded by the arrival in England of French Huguenot craftsmen, some of whom became cabinet makers to the royal household.

Skilled Craftsmanship
Cabinets were now often veneered with walnut, maple, yew, holly olive, beech, and also fruitwoods. Burr woods were especially desirable. Some woods were cut across the grain to create an 'oyster' veneer.
The most elaborate forms of veneering used floral, seaweed, or arabesque marquetry.
Other cabinets were japanned, to imitate lacquer, or were covered in patterned gesso to create a raised and gilded appearance. Now reproduction furniture, Chests on stands were replaced by bureau cabinets, often topped with pediments or domes intended for the display of expensive porcelain. Clothes presses and livery cupboards were commonplace, as were chests of drawers and kneehole desks.
Tables ranged from oak trestles to grand console tables. These were often designed to stand beneath large, ornate mirrors. High-backed chairs with caned seats and backs were popular, as were chairs in the style of Daniel Marot, which had long carved or pierced back splats.
As the century drew to a close, fine furniture, including fitted furniture, was no longer made solely for grand palaces. Simpler, well crafted pieces were also being made for wealthy city merchants and the landed gentry, paving the way for the elegant styles prevalent in the 18th century.

Japanese Lacquer Cabinet On English Stand
Designed to stand against the wall, this cabinet is only decorated on the front. Such fine lacquered pieces would have been great status symbols. The imported Japanese cabinets rests on an English giltwood stand.

 

Bureau Bookcase

One of a pair, this is a very rare and fine example of a bureau bookcase. Attributed to the partnership of London cabinet makers James Moore and John Gumley, and is decorated with carved and gilded gesso incorporating strapwork with scrolling foliage and floral detail. An arched pediment with a carved shell sits above arched doors with bevelled glass, which open to reveal a fitted interior. 

The lower part, with a sloping fall front, encloses a bureau interior. The base contains drawers with drop-ring handles.

   

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England
During the reign of James I, most handmade furniture was made of oak and was limited to joint stools, chairs with plain or spiral turned legs, chests, and long trestle tables. Decoration was confined to elaborate carving on chairs, chests, and settees.
The aristocracy of Wales and Scotland tended to follow the lead of the dominant English court style.

Foreign Influences
During the reign of Charles I, craftsmen from France, Italy, and the Low Countries came to work on state apartments and grand houses. Influenced by designs from the Low Countries, English furniture, now reproduction furniture, was more restrained than Italian Baroque pieces.
Upholstered furniture was made for grand houses and apartments. Chairs generally had quite low, square backs, upholstered with tapestry or leather, and armchairs had seat cushions and padded arms covered with upholstery. Settees were often made as part of a suit with matching chairs.

The Restoration
Furniture, and fitted furniture, was commonly made of plain woods such as oak, ash, elm or beach under Oliver Cromwell, whose government did not condone lavish displays of ornament, but the situation did change after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
Charles II had spent his exile in Europe and bought back the latest fashions to England. Court life under Charles II was far less formal, creating a demand for small folding tables, card tables, and gateleg dining tables. Walnut became the most popular wood, and techniques such as veneering and caning were fashionable. Caned furniture with twist-turned frames was considered quintessentially English.

High-Backed Side Chairs
Made from imported walnut, these chairs, with there carved and pierced back splat, is similar to engravings published by Marot. They have cabriole legs terminating in 'horse-bone' feet, but has stretchers.

Hall Chair

This chair is based on the Italian sgabello design, The oak is carved and painted, with a shell-shaped back and pendant mask with swags on the front. c.1635

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Vernacular Styles
In Germany and Scandinavia huge, architectural wardrobes with very heavy cornices, known as schranke, remained popular in wealthy middle-class houses throughout the century. These had two doors over two drawers.
In the north they were usually made of oak and very quite often heavily carved - in the south they were more likely to be made from local fruitwood or walnut. The chest was an important household item of handmade furniture well into the 18th century.
Upholstered armchairs with carved top rails were made for the heads of households. These had turned arms and curled, almost scrolled feet.
In Sweden and Germany suites of stools, armchairs and chairs were upholstered in leather, or occasionally they were upholstered in imported silk. In less grand homes it was very common to find stools and benches set around long, plank tables.

Decorative Effects
German craftsmen were renowned for their use of walnut veneer, and later for ebony. Eger in Bonemia was well known for cabinets using sculptural relief or intarsia panels. Now antique furniture, decorated with Boullework became quite popular in southern Germany at the end of the century. Augsburg craftsmen mastered the technique, and produced fine examples of the style.
Berlin became renowned for japanned furniture, especially for the tables, cabinets, gueridons, and musical instrument cases with japanned decorations on a white ground designed by Gerhard Dagly.
In Paris his non fitted furniture pieces were described as 'Berlin' cabinets. Cabinets decorated with red and blue lacquer from Dresden and Brandenburg were also highly coveted abroad.

The Baroque Schloss Biebrich (palace), south of Wiesbaden
This three winged palace on the banks of the Rhine is a great example of the Baroque style, with its bold colour  scheme and carved statues looking down from the roof.

Armoire

17th century armoire, a Fassadebschrank - intarsia on oak with a pine base.

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The end of the Thirty Years War in 1648 marked the beginning of German federalism. From this time, Germany was made up of small sovereign states that were ruled by wealthy princes.
The most powerful nation in the Baltic area was Sweden By 1660, under Charles XI, it had reached the height of its power.

Influences
Styles of furniture varied from one part of Germany to another, this was because each principality had its own court. The Bavarian Electors built the Residenz in Munich with a style and a luxury that made King Gustav Adolf of Sweden jealous.
Following an exile in Brussels, Elector Max II Emanuel (1680-1724) returned to Bavaria with very expensive Antwerp handmade furniture. During his second exile, in France, he became familiar with the French Baroque and sent Bavarian craftsmen to France to study, who bought the style back home.
In Germany, by the beginning of the 18th century, the heavy opulent Baroque style was making way for the curvaceous Rococo forms that reached their creative high point in church and castle interiors. Partly due to the guild system, the German cities were a little behind in development, generally taking the lead from the masterpieces.

Princely Cabinets
In 1631, the city of Augsburg sent an ebony cabinet decorated with precious materials to the King of Sweden as a piece offering. Augsburg was the stronghold of, now antique furniture design, and such a large number of intarsia cabinets were imported to Spain that in1603 King Philip III introduced a ban on the importation of Augsburg goods.
Curiosity cabinets, embellished with very fine inlays of ivory, silver, amber and precious stones, or with coloured engravings and porcelain plaques were sought by noblemen and emulated throughout Europe. Augsburg also produced opulent embossed and engraved silver fitted and non fitted furniture for the export markets.

Travel Cabinet
This ebony cabinet from Southern Germany is decorated with ivory inlay. The small front opens to reveal many small drawers flanking a second section with a lockable door.
All of the surfaces are decorated with ivory foliate inlay, and the case stands on flat ball feet.

Swedish Gilded Mirror Frame

This gilt bronze frame, attributed to Burchard Precht. The bevelled rectangular plate with arched cresting within a conforming slip-mounted frame cast with egg-and-dart and pendant flowers, shells and rocaille, the scalloped crest surmounted by a mask flanked by frolicking putti beneath central flower basket, cresting plates replaced, the left putto to top replaced in carved wood, regilt.

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Cabinet-On-Stand
The cabinet is usually made of oak, and then veneered with a variety of woods, for example walnut, palm and purple wood, with lacquer and ray-skin panels forming part of the inlay.
The cabinet stands on six turned, squared baluster legs joined by flat stretchers. A wealthy status symbol for its time, this cabinet is the earliest known example of Dutch furniture made using lacquer panels and polished ray-skin cut from an earlier Japanese coffer.
The original piece was probably Imported from the Netherlands by the Dutch East India Company, but was probably no longer fashionable.
The desirable exotic materials from the East would then have been removed and used to decorate a new, more fashionable, piece of antique furniture.

Giltwood Pier Table & Mirror

This is one of a pair of tables , each with a matching large mirror above. This heavily carved gilt table has a serpentine marble top and scrolled serpentine-panelled legs joined by a cross stretcher.

In the centre is a carved urn. The coat of arms of the original owner is carved into the top of the mirror frame. (Note: Table picture unavailable)

Doll's House

This doll's house was commissioned by Petronella Oortman, a very wealthy woman from Amsterdam. She ordered porcelain objects from China and had the city's handmade furniture makers and artists decorate the interior.

Costing as much as a townhouse along the canal, this was not a toy for children.

Its importance for the historian is in the design  and placement of the furniture.

Dutch Oak & Marquetry Table

This table is typical of Low Countries' design, with square baluster legs and flat stretchers. Designed to stand against a wall, fitted furniture, only the visible surfaces are decorated with marquetry.

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Low Countries
During the first half of the 17th century, the northern provinces became a major maritime power. The city of Amsterdam grew prosperous, and the influx of exotic goods and materials brought from the Far East by the Dutch East India Company made this city a real haven for artists and craftsmen.
Traditional manufacturers flourished in the southern Netherlands, which at the time was still under Spanish Hapsburg rule. Flemish craftsmen were known in particular for their luxurious tapestries, stamped or gilt leather and weavings, used for both upholstery and wall hangings.

Popular Styles
Early 17th century furniture, now antique furniture, from the Low Countries was generally quite simple, although more elaborate pieces were made for wealthy patrons. For much of the century, the four-door court cupboard was the most important piece of furniture in wealthy homes. Usually made of Oak and often decorated with intricately carved figures, or intarsia panels depicting architectural scenes.
Walnut then became the timber of choice after 1660 and was quite often embellished with inlays or exotic veneered panels. In Holland, the 'arched' cupboard with two long panelled doors remained fashionable.

Luxurious Cabinets
As in Italy, the Augsburg cabinet was influential. Early in the century, Flemish craftsmen in Antwerp made small table cabinets veneered with imported ebony, they also begun to use new and exotic imports as veneers - perhaps influenced by the Northern Provinces' trade with the East.
Table cabinets then gave way to 'cabinets on stands', decorated with ebony, mother of pearl and tortoiseshell veneers. Cabinets later had carved stands with legs made from gilded caryatids or ebonized wood - this can be seen today with reproduction furniture.
Later in the century, craftsmen such as Jan van MeKeren, a cabinet maker in Amsterdam, decorated large cabinets on stands and tables with intricate floral marquetry, inspired by the still life floral paintings that were popular at the time.
The contrasting colours of ebony from Madagascar, purple amaranth from Guyana, rosewood from Brazil and sandalwood from India were combined to create marquetry of consummate skill. Exported to France and then England - these cabinets provided inspiration for cabinet makers there, who developed their own styles of veneering.

Everyday Pieces
Floral marquetry was not just used to embellish cabinets - side tables were often decorated in the same way. More typical of the Low Countries, however, were tables and cupboards decorated with a wealth of naturalistic carving.
Chests of drawers were often made of oak, polished or stained to resemble ebony. Ebony or stained pearwood was used for mouldings.
Chairs tended to be rectangular with low or high backs. Usually made of walnut and upholstered in leather, cloth or velvet with brass studs.
As the century advanced, inspired by imports from India, chair seats and backs were made of cane.
The legs were linked by stretchers. The artist Crispin van den Passe's Boutique Menuiserie, published in Amsterdam in 1642, showed elements of Mannerism in chair design, but it also included simpler chairs with straight backs, double stretchers, and carved arms terminating in dolphins.

French Influence
Towards the end of the century, the dazzling furniture of the Court at Versailles became a new source of inspiration, compounded by an influx of Huguenot designers and craftsmen, such as Daniel Marot (featured in the next article) fleeing religious persecution in France.
The French influence soon became evident as Dutch furniture and fitted furniture, became more sculptural and less rectangular. Based on Marot's designs, chairs now had tall, richly carved backs with crested back rails.

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Florentine Cabinet
This wooden cabinet, now antique furniture, produced at the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence, has pietra dura panels depicting mythological scenes. The architectural influence on Italian Baroque handmade furniture design can be seen in the structural form of the piece.

Scagliola
Scagliola is false marble. The first documented examples of it appeared at the end of the 17th century in Germany and in Italy.
Pietra dura panels and table tops, for fitted and non fitted furniture, especially those from the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence, were prohibitively expensive, so much less wealthy patrons were very keen to find an alternative and commissioned craftsmen to create an imitation - Scagliola.

The Technique
Scagliola is produced by grinding the mineral selenite into a powder and mixing it with coloured pigments and animal glue to produce a plaster like substance. As with pietra dura, a drawing is transferred to a stone slab upon which it is engraved.
Unlike marquetry or pietra dura, which are both inlaid, the liquid scagliola is poured into the engraved hollows in the stone, then left to set.
Additional effects, such as veining or different colour variations, are achieved by adding chips of marble, granite, alabaster, porphyry or other stones to the mixture, or by engraving and filling the hardened plaster a second time. Once the plaster has finally hardened, it is polished with linseed oil to create the desired finish.

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Pietra Dura & Scagliola

Florentine handmade furniture - table tops and cabinet panels inlaid with richly coloured, semi-precious stones were highly coveted by wealthy patrons during the 17th century.

Pietra Dura (hard stone) involves making a mosaic of hard or semi-precious stones. The manufacture of Pietra Dura was just one of the trades that supplied furniture makers from the Renaissance. Scagliola created a similar effect at much less of a cost.

Originating in Italy, the full name - Commesso  di pietra dura - describes stones that are fitted together so closely that the joins are invisible. The mosaic is glued to a slate base for stability. The elaborate process of creating pictures from stone has remained the same for centuries.

Pietra dura was used for table tops and provided a good contrast with the gilt console bases that were typical of the time. The rich colours and floral or naturalistic pictures not only displayed the expensive materials - the dedicated craftsmanship required to complete such work was admired and coveted by royal and aristocratic patrons.

Teamwork

The very finest workshops produced pietra dura in teams. An artist or sculptor would prepare the design, then other craftsmen chose the stones and after polishing them would cut them into fine slices.

Tracings of the design were used to cut the stones into the right shapes and these were then, very carefully, glued and pieced together in position on a base. If the design was particularly delicate, it would be lined with slate. Finally the stones would be polished with abrasive powders.

The Grand Ducal Workshops

These Florentine workshops, situated in the galleries of the Uffizi Palace, were pre-eminent in developing pietra dura furnishings. Other workshops sometimes poached Florentine artisans so that they could teach their skills elsewhere.

In 1588, Ferdinand I de'Medici made them the Court workshop, making fitted and non fitted furniture as well as mosaics.

The works were commissioned for the Grand Duke's residences as well as for important European families. Products ranged from cabinets and table tops to boxes and architectural features. 

Henry IV and Louis XIII of France established their own royal workshops under the Louvre Palace in Paris.