A set of nine pietra dura panels, A set of nine pietra dura panels, mid-17th century, Florentine, in the manner of Baccio del Bianco for the Grand Ducal workshops, comprising eight rectangular examples, each depicting two or more animals, together with a demilune panel depicting a recumbent lion, rectangular panels 19 x 35cm the lunette 16 x 27cm, each in a gilt and silvered gesso frame (9) Provenance: The Estate of Sir Jack and Lady Diana Baer. Literature: Anna Maria Giusti, 'Pietre Dure: Hardstone in Furniture and Decorations', London 1992, p.83, fig. 26, p.218, fig.76. The art of inlaying hardstones for decorative use was used throughout many courts of Europe from the mid-sixteenth century, but it was at the Medici Court in Florence that it reached its apogee, particularly under the patronage of Cosimo I (r. 1569-74), his son Francesco (r. 1574-87), and Cosimo's brother Ferdinand I (r. 1587-1609), who formally established the Grand Ducal workshop, the Galleria dei Lavori, in 1588. In the manner of Baccio del Bianco for the Grand Ducal workshops, these bear many similarities to other known examples of del BiancoÕs work. Active in the first half of the 17th century, del Bianco was, according to Anna Maria Giusti, known for simple depictions of animals in energetic and spirited poses, making use of soft stones in very similar palettes to the present examples. In many of the panels offered, pale blue agate and translucent alabaster have been used to form the sky peppered with beautiful soft clouds. Condition Report: Panels with natural cracks to marble. Later frames with a little wear, two with losses to frames.