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Lot Essay
Florence became a centre for the production of hardstone-mounted cabinets following the foundation of the Opificio delle pietre dure, in 1588 by Grand Duke Ferdinand I de Medici. By the mid-17th century there was a significant demand for the production of splendid and elaborate cabinets such as the present lot. These often adopted an architectural form, the ebony frame providing the perfect foil for the expensive specimen hardstones and ormolu mounts favoured by a growing population of wealthy patrons. This cabinet was restored and embellished in the 19th Century when such objects were once again highly sought-after and were often purchased by wealthy noblemen on the Grand Tour.
Whilst there is nothing more substantive than tradition to link this cabinet to the Bute collections, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, is known to have had a passion for marbles; he often incorporated interesting and diverse specimens into his various substantial building projects, including the staircase at Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute. In 1887 he instructed his agent P.E. Rainford Esq., the British Vice-Consul in Messina, Sicily, to purchase on his behalf a substantial and elaborate specimen stone and ormolu tabernacle and to arrange for its shipping back to England (Works of Art from the Bute Collection, sold Christie's London, 3 July 1996, lot 8). It is therefore reasonable to presume that Rainford may have purchased other items such as the present cabinet on the Marquess' behalf to furnish the great houses he was building at Cardiff and Mount Stuart.
Whilst there is nothing more substantive than tradition to link this cabinet to the Bute collections, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, is known to have had a passion for marbles; he often incorporated interesting and diverse specimens into his various substantial building projects, including the staircase at Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute. In 1887 he instructed his agent P.E. Rainford Esq., the British Vice-Consul in Messina, Sicily, to purchase on his behalf a substantial and elaborate specimen stone and ormolu tabernacle and to arrange for its shipping back to England (Works of Art from the Bute Collection, sold Christie's London, 3 July 1996, lot 8). It is therefore reasonable to presume that Rainford may have purchased other items such as the present cabinet on the Marquess' behalf to furnish the great houses he was building at Cardiff and Mount Stuart.