The Ivories Room
Numerous articles collected by the Medici grand dukes are on display here. Gran Principe Ferdinando himself loved to work at the lathe.Ivory's fascinating origins, its rarity, preciousness, beauty, malleability and resistance, as well as its structural properties make it well-suited to sculpture, all explain how it came to replace brass in the 17th century, especially in countries like Saxony and Denmark, where the art of lathing was more highly developed. Even many princes practiced this art, including the Duke of Coburg, who had two master turners in his service. Examples of their work were looted by Matias de'Medici during the Thirty Years War and brought to Florence.
Chiarini, Marco, Pitti Palace, All the Museums..., Firenze Musei, p. 137.
Chiarini, Marco, Pitti Palace, All the Museums..., Firenze Musei, p. 137.