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Nestled in the narrow Via Ricasoli and not far from the Duomo in Florence is this small workshop for Pietre Dura and Mosaics. It is a relatively modern establishment having been opened in the 1970s by Renzo Scarpelli. However the techniques employed within are centuries old and have only been passed down through intensive creative relationships between master and apprentice. One such ‘Apprentice’ in this workshop has been titled ‘Apprentice’ for nearly 40 years. Such is the rigor placed on quality of workmanship and the skill of hand only acquired by years of application.

A quick tour of the workshop yielded these photographs that go some way to expressing the painstaking processes behind the creation of the works. The concept for the artwork is drawn on paper. This will always be line-work that is clearly delineated. The Artisan then proceeds to find stones that work with the movement that is desired in each segment of the drawing. This is painting and styling at a micro level, and particularly so when it comes to rendering skin and drapery. The creative process requires a slow and patient gathering of tones and colours. Boxes of stones lie awaiting placement, sometimes sitting for years on the workshop walls until such time as they will be called upon to provide the right shade of shadow on a lemon, or the right tone of pink on a cheek.

Antique Artisans in such fields as this rare corner of the decorative arts still inhabit the city of Florence. Knowing that there are incredibly few places like this in the world makes it a greater treat when invited to see behind the scenes. On the workshop tables, which are strewn in a delightfully controlled mess of materials and tools, my eye caught a photograph of a large and ornate oblong table. How long had it taken to create? Only three years, though the client had initially demanded it in seven months. The finished cost? $700,000 US.

I am sure that in my meandering through the Palazzo Pitti a few days later I must have walked past tables worth twice, thrice and more than this amount, and a plethora of them at that. That sumptuous palace on the Oltrano side has a truly mesmerizing collection of not only Pietre Dura pieces but innumerable and priceless relics from the past.