UNKNOWN MASTER, Italian
(active 1590s in Florence)

Medici-Lorraine Coat-of-Arms

1590s
Polychrome marble inlay on white marble, 38 x 29 cm
Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence

This coat-of-arms in the form of a mosaic of precious polychrome marbles, is one of the first objects produced in the artistic workshop founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici in 1588. This type of workmanship was soon to become the pride and distinctive mark of the Florentine manufactory. The lively colours of the inlaid stones form the coupled heraldic arms of the Medici and of the noble Lorraine family, to which belonged to Cristina, wed to Ferdinando in 1590.