Restoration department: mosaics and Florentine commesso

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Activity information

The Laboratory

The Laboratory

Location

The laboratory of the mosaics and Florentine commesso restoration department is located within the historical headquarters of the OPD in via degli Alfani, 78.

History

This department, which has inherited its skills directly from the artistic workshop of the ancient Opificio founded by the Medici in 1588, is the heart from which the modern Opificio originated. It preserved to the present day sophisticated manual skills that allow intervention on precious stone mosaics (also known as ‘commessi’ or ‘Florentine mosaics’) at a unique level of specialisation, internationally renowned.

Restoration activity, research, training

In order to restore applied art objects of highly decorative value such as commessi, it is necessary to master their technique of execution, aiming to re-establish their integrity, whenever possible, in image and meaning. In this meticulous reconstruction process, carried out in a reversible way – with integrations that can be separated from the original parts according to current restoration criteria, the laboratory has the possibility of using the extraordinary ancient marble and semi-precious stone reserves from the Medici-Lorraine period, conserved in the Institute.

The department also restores glyptic works, such as cameos and intaglios not only in semi-precious stones but also in other valuable materials such as ivory, coral, amber, tortoiseshell, and others, often collaborating with the OPD’s goldsmithery department. Another type of artefact that was highly valued at the Florentine grand-ducal court and part of the department’s activities is “scagliola”, a complex inlay made with coloured and polished gypsum.

Mosaics are another artefact restored in this department. The Opificio started the restoration of mosaics in the 1880s, both on artistic and archaeological artworks in Italy and abroad.

With a high degree of skills and bearer of an illustrious and unrepeatable tradition, the department is also active in research and experimentation on artistic techniques, teaching within the OPD’s Higher Education School, as well as in specialised training through internships and apprenticeships for Italian and foreign professionals.

 

 

 

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Professional training programmes

OPD. Settore di restauro Mosaico e commesso fiorentino