407. 407W Plateau Italien en marbres divers, comprenant Brocatella di Spagna, Giallo de Siene, Rosso Antico, Breccia, Alabastro fiorito, Jaspe et Lapis Lazuli, travail Romain du XIXe siècle dans le goût du début du XVIIe An Italian Spanish Brocatella, Giallo di Siena, Rosso Antico, Alabastro fiorito, jasper and lapis lazuli specimen marble top, Rome, 19th century Of rectangular form with moulded rosso border, the central field with an oval alabastro fiorito reserve with with jewelled-shaped surround, within a cartouche border with geometric and flowering foliate sprays against a black marble ground, 138cm wide, 94.5cm deep, 5.5cm high (54in wide, 37in deep, 2in high) This attractive specimen marble top is directly inspired from the early Roman specimen marble tops of the late 16th-early 17th century, characterised by a large oval reserve often in heavily patterned alabastro, surrounded by a strapwork cartouche and by geometric coloured border. The delicate blend of geometrical and abstract motifs noticeable on our top derives from designs dated from circa 1565 by celebrated craftsmen as the Italian Giovanni Antonio Dosio. A related specimen marble top formerly in the Villa Medici in Rome, executed most likely from designs by the architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio, and made in Rome in the third quarter of the 16th century is now conserved in the Galleria Palatina in Florence. See Annamaria Giusti, Pietre Dure and the Art of the Florentine Inlay, London, 2006, p.43, ill. n.30. Specimen marble tops or commesso work as known in Italian, showcase the triumph of Rome from the early 16th century as a centre for pietre dure. Mainly due to the passion for precious marbles and rare stones, and following the archaeological discoveries, the art of inlaying on marbles brought a connection with Antiquity and to the splendour of the Eternal city. Richly figured alabastro and other contrasting precious marbles appear in table tops by Jacopo Vignola (1507-73), who is now thought to have provided the designs for the celebrated table supplied to Alessandro Farnese circa 1565, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York. At the time of their manufacture they attracted some of Rome's greatest patrons such as Cardinal Giovanni Ricci of Montepulciano and Cosimo I Medici, whose fascination for the art of inlaying marbles led to the foundation of the celebrated Medici workshop by his son Ferdinando.