How was it made? Pietre Dure

Pietre dure is a highly skilled and intricate decorative process whereby precisely cut hardstones in a carefully chosen palette of colours are arranged to form a pattern or image, typically set within a panel of marble, and then polished and buffed to a high shine.

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Background image: Hunting cup with sleeping dog, 1480 – 90, Venice. Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.544-2008. © The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

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