Under the reign of the last Medici (Cosimo II, Ferdinand II and Cosimo III), many painters, sculptors, goldsmiths and cabinetmakers collaborated with the workshop providing models for the semi-precious stones artisans. This way, they contributed to achieve great creativity and high technical quality. During Cosimo III’s grand duchy, the workshop reached amazing results under the direction of Giovan Battista Foggini (born in 1652 and who died in 1725) and the very skilled art of the semi-precious stone carver Giuseppe Antonio Torricelli. Since the end of the seventeenth century, the activity of the workshop mostly focused on the carving in relief of the stones, following the Baroque inclination toward three-dimensionality. The eclectic Baroque fantasy achieved its highest results in the production of spectacular and lavish furniture such as cabinets, writing desks, tables, four-poster beds, in which semi-precious stones couple their brightness to the splendor of gilded bronzes. The fame of the Florentine workshop became international, so that at the end of the sixteenth century an analogue workshop arose in Prague with the help of Florentine artisans.
