Box of hard stones 18th century

Precious box in ebony inlaid with polychrome hard stones representing
foliage branches loaded with fruit on the lid and uprights, hard stones in relief
hard stones in relief representing fruits supported by branches
in gilt bronze framed with ebony wood.
Florence 18th century

Galleria dei Lavori, Grand Ducal factory under the direction of Gian Battista Foginni (1652 - 1725) during the reign of Como III de Medici.

This magnificent little box is decorated with panels inlaid with hard stones and decorated with fruits. The chromatic richness of the stones is revealed with intensity on the black background of the Belgian marble and composes a shimmering palette of a polychromy full of brilliance
The design of this box can be attributed to the grandducal atelicrs, supervised by Gian Battista Foggini (1652-1725) during the reign of Duke Como III (1670-1723) who, according to A Giusti, lavished his passion and wealth on the factory.

Foggini was a leading figure, whose functions were at the same time those of architect, sculptor and ornamentalist. He was in charge of the general management of the Court workshops, where lapidaries, chiselers, founders, gilders and lyers were grouped together... Among the many works illustrating his authority in the field of applied arts, are the boxes decorated with hard stones, designed as diplomatic gifts to illustrious
as diplomatic gifts to illustrious recipients to show them the prodigality of the Medici court.

A number of historical boxes similar to this one are preserved in renowned collections:
-A casket in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kassel, (Gonzales Palacios vol II fig. 75).
-A box, formerly in the collections of Prince Marc de Beauvau-Craon (1679-1754). He had acquired it when he was governor of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under François I de Médicis (Gonzales Palacios vol II fig. 75-76), nowadays in the Minneapolis Institute of Art
-A box in the collections of the Corsini Princes, Florence, given by the Grand Duke Como de' Medici to Lorenzo Corsini, who became pontiff from 1720 to 1730
-A casket in The Vyne Manor, Hampshire, National Trust, where this casket is cited as early as 1752, probably acquired by John Chute on his Grand Tour in 1740 (Gonzales Palacios, vol II, fig. 83)
A box, once in the collections of William Beckford, acquired at the sale of his collections at Fonthill in 1823, by George Hammond Lucy for Charlecote Park, Warwickshire. This box is still part of the remarkable collection of the house.