UNKNOWN GOLDSMITH, Italian
(active 1590s in Florence)

Vase

1590s
Cut rock crystal, 12 x 35 x 21 cm
Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence

This vase is one of the numerous exemplars of vases in rock crystals, a material preferred by collectors of the sixteenth century and much appreciated for its clear transparency. It was probably produced in the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence by expert hard stone cutters from Milan.