An ornamental obelisk made using the pietra dura technique, further decorated with figures of lions in gilded bronze. Pietra dura (Italian for ‘hard stone’) is a technique of creating decorative patterns from fitted tiles of decorative stones (e.g. jasper), minerals (e.g. chalcedony) and animal organic substances such as mother-of-pearl or coral. The technique originated during the Renaissance in Italy and was particularly popular in Florence. [ZPS]