"Pietra Dura" made in India?

This research project intends to study the identity and power issues surrounding the so-called "pietra dura" (in French, stone marquetry) between the two main historical capitals of this niche craft: Florence in Italy and Āgrā in India. The circulation of craftsmen, objects, technological processes and materials between these two centers since the early 17th century has given rise to a debate on the origin of this technique in India, where the diffusionist hypothesis of a transmission from Florentine craftsmen to their Indian counterparts has taken hold. Examination of this debate - which is still ongoing - suggests analyzing the gradual construction of a global hierarchy establishing the prevalence of Florentine production over all others. Posed in contrast to its distant neighbor Āgrā, this chronological and technological primacy of Florence was constructed in the discourses of various authors, particularly in colonial times.

→ More information about the project (FR)

Lola Cindrić

Lola Cindrić holds a Master's degree in Conservation-Restoration of Cultural Heritage from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a Master's degree in Sociology & Anthropology from Université Paris 7 Diderot. She is currently a doctoral student in Social Anthropology & Ethnology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. Her research explores identity and power issues surrounding the circulation of artisans, objects, iconographic motifs and materials between the two main centers of stone marquetry production worldwide: Agra in India and Florence in Italy.