# Vase of Flowers [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN MASTER, Italian]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Hard stone inlay, 29 x 18 cm ## Commentary Vase of Flowers c. 1615 Hard stone inlay, 29 x 18 cm Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence 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 picture shows an example of the still-life theme. This panel was designed for the altar of the Chapel of Princes. ## Related artworks - [A Bishop Saint]() - [A Curious Scene]() - [Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel]() - [Adoration of St Mark]() - [Allegorical Portrait of Dante]() - [Altar frontal]() - [Altarpiece \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of St Clare \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of St Clare \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of St Clare]() - [Altarpiece of the Magi]() - [Altarpiece]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()