Thomas Moore
Head of Department
Lot 75TP,W
An Italian 17th century pietra dura and marble panel on a later cast-iron stand
5 April 2017, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£30,000 - £50,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Home and Interiors specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
An Italian 17th century pietra dura and marble panel
on a later cast-iron stand
inlaid with an assortment of marbles including Rouge Griotte, Siena, Verde Antico, Portor and Brocatelle, the shaped, scrolled and acanthus carved raised moulded strapwork tablets centred by a shaped and scrolled cartouche, with a moulded border and rounded angles each inlaid with a lotus-leaf tablet, the later stand comprising four square section and pierced baluster supports, typical restorations, the marble panel: 184cm wide x 79cm deep; the stand: 156cm wide x 57cm deep; height of table including the marble top: 66cm.
inlaid with an assortment of marbles including Rouge Griotte, Siena, Verde Antico, Portor and Brocatelle, the shaped, scrolled and acanthus carved raised moulded strapwork tablets centred by a shaped and scrolled cartouche, with a moulded border and rounded angles each inlaid with a lotus-leaf tablet, the later stand comprising four square section and pierced baluster supports, typical restorations, the marble panel: 184cm wide x 79cm deep; the stand: 156cm wide x 57cm deep; height of table including the marble top: 66cm.
Footnotes
Related Italian 17th century pietra dura panels include those illustrated in A. M. Massinelli, The Gilbert Collection, Hardstones, 2000, London, fig. 41, p. 124. Each one comprises contrasting raised or relief marble and flat marble areas together with lotus-leaf inlaid highlights, as on the present lot. While these comparables, along with the offered example, most likely originally formed part of a grandiose Baroque church altar or interior.
Despite such marble decoration being a recurrent feature inside numerous Tuscan churches, the type of stylised inlaid fields in tandem with raised or moulded segments which appear on both the present model and the aforementioned panels, can also be found in some Roman church interiors dating from the same period. Of particular note, examples of this kind of work punctuate the altar and walls of Caetani chapel in Santa Pudenza, Rome.
However, the combination of flat and relief marble surfaces with the type of inlaid stylised lotus-leaf or palmette motifs, characteristic of both the Masinelli panels and the offered pietra dura slab, suggests these are possibly of Neapolitan origin. Consequently one might also legitimately assume that works of this nature were probably influenced by the output of Cosimo Fanzago (1591-1678), perhaps the most renowned Neapolitan architect and sculptor of the 17th century, who was celebrated for his innovative and dynamic use and manipulation of marble.
Literature
A. M. Massinelli, The Gilbert Collection, Hardstones, 2000, London.
