Ornamental Turning
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"How much useful knowledge is lost by the scattered forms in which it is ushered into the world! How many solitary students spend half their lives in making discoveries which have been perfected a century before their time, for want of a condensed exhibition of what is known!"
— Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
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Turners of the Early Modern Period in Tuscany
Tuscany
- Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1549-1609) – The Medici were known as patrons of science and the arts. The famous turner Giovanni Ambrogio Maggiore was known to be working for the Medici court in Florence in 1597-98.
- Cosimo II de' Medici (1590-1621) – Ferdinand's son. Presumably furthered the tradition of turning at the court, as his son Ferdinand II was known to be a turner. He was also known to be a patron of Galileo, whom he appointed court philosopher and mathematician.
- Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1610-1670) – Son of Cosimo II de' Medici, Ferdinand II employed the Treffler brothers for the mechanical arts in his court. Ferdinand's borther, Mattia de' Medici (1613-1667), took the 32 "Coberg Ivories" spoils of war from the sacked city of Coberg in 1632. Only 27 of these pieces entered the collection of Ferdinando, as five went missing. One of these may be at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles which features an ornamental turned ivory object created by Heiden (possibly on loan from the Museo degli Argenti?)
- Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1670-1723) – Cosimo was the son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. He commissioned a rose engine made by Christoph Treffler.
- Johann Philipp Treffler (1625-1698) – Treffler was originally from Augsburg (Germany) but worked in Florence. Treffler was named clockmaker of Grand Duke Ferdinand II in 1656, along with his brother Christoph. He also worked for Galileo.
- Christoph Treffler - Christoph worked with his brother Johann Philipp as clockmaker for the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. He trained the Florentine Jacopo Mariani to turn. He also made a rose engine for Cosimo III.
- Philip Senger (Sengher, Singer) – Senger was called from Copenhagen to Florence to be the court turner for Grand Duke Cosimo III where he instructed the Duke's two sons Ferdinand and Giovanni Gasone as turners. Senger worked at the court form 1675 to 1704. Objects he produced are on display at Museo degli Argenti in Palazzo Pitti, as well as other museums, such as the Rosenborg Castle and the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Frankfurt.
- Jacopo Mariani – Mariani apprenticed with Christoph Treffler and worked for Grand Duke Cosimo III.
Sources for information in this section