Ferdinando I de' Medici decided to compete with the art of painting through the semiprecious stone inlays in which the workshop founded by him in 1588 was specialized. This workshop proved to be capable of cutting the semiprecious stones along sinuous and complex contours, while still making the single pieces fit together so precisely as to make the joints between the various stones practically invisible. This technique permitted the Florentine masters to produce a vast repertory of images, ranging from portraiture to still-life, to scared scenes and landscapes.

The workshop not only developed the technique of inlaying semiprecious stones on flat surfaces, but also a new method which used the same material to realize relief and free-standing sculpture.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Vase of Flowers c. 1615 Hard stone inlay, 29 x 18 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	650*952 True Color 113 Kb
	Melchisedek and the Candelabra 1600-20 Hard stone inlay, 28 x 55 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	1226*700 True Color 164 Kb
	Vase of Flowers c. 1650 Hard stone inlay relief, 24 x 19 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	800*1015 True Color 106 Kb
	Medici-Lorraine Coat-of-Arms 1590s Polychrome marble inlay on white marble, 38 x 29 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	800*1076 True Color 123 Kb
	Sunflower 1664 Hard stone inlay, 32 x 20 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	650*964 True Color 81 Kb
	Tabletop 1650-1700 Commessi di pietre dure, gilt bronze, 64 x 108 cm Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna	1522*900 True Color 182 Kb
	Tile with Still-Life 1600-20 Hard stone inlay Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	615*1500 True Color 94 Kb
	Landscape showing Jonah and the whale 1620s Hard stone inlay Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	1309*600 True Color 159 Kb
	Coat-of-Arms of the City of Florence 1620s Polychrome marble inlay on white marble San Lorenzo, Florence	949*1400 True Color 163 Kb
	The Evangelists Matthew and Mark c. 1605 Semiprecious stone inlay sculpture, height 32 cm (each) Museo degli Argenti, Florence	1100*1115 True Color 113 Kb
	Lorraine-Medici Coat-of Arms 18th century Painted and gilt wood, 200 x 150 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	900*1056 True Color 154 Kb
	View of the Pantheon in Rome 1790s Hard stone inlay, 32 x 20 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence	1300*946 True Color 211 Kb