Pietra dura

Pietra dura (Italian: [ˈpjɛːtra ˈduːra]), pietre dure ([ˈpjɛːtre ˈduːre]) or intarsia lapidary[1] (see below), called parchin kari or parchinkari (Persian: پرچین کاری) in the Indian subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images.

Typically, the resulting panel is completely flat, but some examples where the image is in low relief were made, taking the work more into the area of hardstone carving.

Nor should it be confused with micromosaics, a form of mosaic using very small tesserae of the same size to create images rather than decorative patterns, for Byzantine icons, and later for panels for setting into furniture and the like.

For fixed inlay work on walls, ceilings, and pavements that do not meet the definition of mosaic, the better terms are intarsia or, in some specific applications, Cosmatesque.

[7] Pietra dura developed from the ancient Roman opus sectile, which at least in terms of surviving examples, was architectural, used on floors and walls, with both geometric and figurative designs.

Byzantine art continued with inlaid floors, but also produced some small religious figures in hardstone inlays, for example in the Pala d'Oro in San Marco, Venice (though this mainly uses enamel).

Medici Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany founded the Galleria di Lavori in 1588,[3] now the Opificio delle pietre dure, for the purpose of developing this and other decorative forms.

Smaller items in the form of medallions, cameos, wall plaques, panels inserted into doors or onto cabinets, bowls, jardinieres, garden ornaments, fountains, benches, etc.

By the early part of the 17th century, smaller objects produced by the Opificio were widely diffused throughout Europe, and as far east to the court of the Mughals in India, where the form was imitated and reinterpreted in a native style; its most sumptuous expression is found in the Taj Mahal.