The scene is assembled from thin, precisely cut pieces of hardstone, fitted together to form a carefully orchestrated design that exploits the natural colours and textures of each stone. This refined technique, known as commesso in pietre dure, originated in mid-sixteenth-century Florence and was later consolidated in 1588, under Ferdinando I de’ Medici, who gathered the grand-ducal workshops into the Galleria dei Lavori at the Uffizi — later to become the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.

The stylistic features of this landscape — its articulate drawing, firm sense of volume and architectural perspective — point to the characteristic Florentine production of the early seventeenth century. The rich variety of stones used likewise suggests that the plaque was executed in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Among the materials, the most striking are Persian lapis lazuli for the sky, Sicilian jasper for the lower hills, and green and brown agate for the lake and its rocky formations. Particularly distinctive is the plaque’s elaborate frame, fashioned with gilt-bronze profiles and inlays of a rare variety of red Cypriot jasper. At the top, a putto’s head framed by scroll ornaments, also in gilt bronze, adds a note of sculptural refinement.

Among the workshops specialising in pieces of this kind were those of the Castrucci family, led by Cosimo and Giovanni. Active first in Florence and then, around the turn of the seventeenth century, primarily in Prague at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, the Castrucci enterprise was extensive and is still not fully understood today in its internal workings. The family kept ties between Prague and Florence, and included a Roman branch of goldsmiths and jewellers. It is worth noting that, despite the plaque’s predominantly Florentine character, its frame also recalls designs found in early seventeenth-century Roman production, such as the frame of the Bacchanal of Putti in the Galleria Borghese, executed by Giovanni Campi after a design by François Duquesnoy.

The work is in excellent condition—remarkably so, given that the landscape still preserves its raised black filler made from powdered marble, used to outline certain dividing lines, such as those surrounding the domed building. Details of this kind, prone to wear and abrasion, very rarely survive in this kind of artworks.