This monumental piece, after a design by the architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1507–1573), was made for the state apartment of Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The top of the table is an inlay of various marbles and semi-precious stones. The two large "windows" in the center are of oriental alabaster, and the lilies are emblems of the Farnese family. The carved marble piers bear the arms of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (d. 1589).

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