Baroque furniture and pietra dura

Sculpted furniture, inlaid stone and the Italy of the Grand Tour.

In Florence the Grand Duke founded a workshop for pietra dura, inlay in semi-precious stone, in 1588, which made table tops and cabinets. In Venice Andrea Brustolon carved furniture that was sculpture, and lacquered furniture imitated Asian lacquer.

In the eighteenth century came the porcelain factories of Doccia, founded in 1737, and Capodimonte, founded in 1743. In 1769 Giovanni Battista Piranesi published designs for chimneypieces and furniture in the antique style.