Saxony's rich hardstone deposits, exploited from the sixteenth century onward, flourished under Augustus the Strong following the development of gemstone-cutting technologies by Johann Friedrich Böttger. These innovations enabled the creation of exceptional hardstone works by artists such as Johann Melchior Dinglinger, Johann Christoph Hübner and, later, the court stonecutter Johann Georg Klett, whose production ranged from hardstone snuff-boxes to sword hilts and helped establish Saxony as a leading centre for lapidary art.