Object Description
Pietra dura inlay Italian coffee table
Italian, 19th Century
Height 59cm, width 83cm, depth 63cm
This highly unusual coffee table is set with an exceptionally beautiful pietra dura top. The pietra dura panelled top has been expertly crafted from a variety of striking and brightly coloured semi-precious stones (including malachite and lapis lazuli), all set into black marble, to create a wondrous vision of nature, with a bird sat on a flowering branch with three butterflies shown fluttering nearby. The pietra dura top is set into a hardwood surround, all supported on a table base with four legs and stretcher.
Pietra dura, or pietra dure, is the highly skilled artform in which patterns or pictures are formed through the inlay of semi-precious stones. It is similar to mosaic work and was typically used in antiquity to produce table tops and decorative panels.