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Lot Essay
The shaped stand is serpentined after the French manner and inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl in the arabesque manner derived from the engravings of Jean Bérain (1637-1711). The tray is embellished with acanthus scrolls and figurative medallions emblematic of the Seasons, whose scrolled and husk-festooned cartouches are accompanied by cherubim-masks, triumphal palm-bearing cupids and stately baldacchino drapery.
There are many references to piqué work in advertisements and sale catalogues of the 17th and 18th Centuries. In his catalogue of The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, London, 1974, II, p. 838, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue refers to the collection of 'picay' work formed by Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III, which included an inkstand and two snuffboxes, all later sold in these Rooms, 18 May 1819, lot 30; 25 May 1819, lot 67 and 26 May 1819, lot 17. Sir Robert Adam is recorded as having bought three 'very handsome snuff-boxes of yellow and black tortoise-shell studded with gold.' on a visit to Naples in 1755 (see J. Fleming, Robert Adam and his Circle, London, 1962, p. 157) and later in the century Lady Anne Miller refers to a comb bought while in Naples in a letter of 1771 (Lady Anne Miller, Letters from Italy, London, 1776, III, p. 243-244, see de Bellaigue, op. cit. p. 838):
.... this city (Naples) is famous for a manufacture in tortoiseshell, which they inlay curiously with gold, and are very ingenious at representing any object you choose. I have had a comb made for my chignon incrusted with gold, to imitate an Etruscan border, copied from an antique vase, which is so well done, that we have bespoke several other articles...
The technique of inlaying tortoiseshell with mother-of-pearl, gold and silver probably originated in Naples towards the end of the 16th Century. Judging by the number of contemporary references to the Neapolitan piqué work and the surviving pieces which bear the signatures of Neapolitan craftsmen, Naples would seem to have been the centre of production, certainly for those pieces made in the eighteenth Century. Piqué was also produced in France and Germany, (see C. Le Corbeiller, European and American Shuff Boxes, 1730-1830, London, 1966, p. 84), however the complete lack of contemporary records necessitates attributions based on the style of the decoration, such as with the two trays at Waddesdon (illustrated in Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, op. cit., nos. 228 and 233).
A number of signed examples are in British collections, for example an inkstand in the Wallace Collection (INV. no. XXIIIA 35), signed by the Neapolitan craftsman Sarao; and a tray at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, by the same. A cabinet in the Royal Collection, illustrated in Catalogue of Bibelots, Miniatures and other Valuables, The Property of H. M. Queen Mary, privately printed, London, 1939, III, p. 85, no. 6 bears the inscription DE LAURENZIF F.. Very little is known of these and other craftsmen, such as Nicolaus Storace, whose signiature appears on a Neapolitan piqué inkstand, sold in these Rooms, 12 May 1970, lot 40, from the collection of Lord Rothschild.
The most notable collections of piqué have been assembled by various members of the Rothschild family, such as that of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild at Mentmore (sold by the Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, Sotheby's house sale, 23 May 1977, lots 1841-58) and that of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild at Waddesdon, discussed by Sir Geoffrey de Ballaigue op. cit., II, p. 827-844. The collection includes two inkstands related to the present lot, nos. 235 and 237. A further inkstand of related design, applied with the arms of the Medici family, is illustrated in H. Ricketts, Objects of Vertu, London, 1966, p. 64.
There are many references to piqué work in advertisements and sale catalogues of the 17th and 18th Centuries. In his catalogue of The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, London, 1974, II, p. 838, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue refers to the collection of 'picay' work formed by Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III, which included an inkstand and two snuffboxes, all later sold in these Rooms, 18 May 1819, lot 30; 25 May 1819, lot 67 and 26 May 1819, lot 17. Sir Robert Adam is recorded as having bought three 'very handsome snuff-boxes of yellow and black tortoise-shell studded with gold.' on a visit to Naples in 1755 (see J. Fleming, Robert Adam and his Circle, London, 1962, p. 157) and later in the century Lady Anne Miller refers to a comb bought while in Naples in a letter of 1771 (Lady Anne Miller, Letters from Italy, London, 1776, III, p. 243-244, see de Bellaigue, op. cit. p. 838):
.... this city (Naples) is famous for a manufacture in tortoiseshell, which they inlay curiously with gold, and are very ingenious at representing any object you choose. I have had a comb made for my chignon incrusted with gold, to imitate an Etruscan border, copied from an antique vase, which is so well done, that we have bespoke several other articles...
The technique of inlaying tortoiseshell with mother-of-pearl, gold and silver probably originated in Naples towards the end of the 16th Century. Judging by the number of contemporary references to the Neapolitan piqué work and the surviving pieces which bear the signatures of Neapolitan craftsmen, Naples would seem to have been the centre of production, certainly for those pieces made in the eighteenth Century. Piqué was also produced in France and Germany, (see C. Le Corbeiller, European and American Shuff Boxes, 1730-1830, London, 1966, p. 84), however the complete lack of contemporary records necessitates attributions based on the style of the decoration, such as with the two trays at Waddesdon (illustrated in Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, op. cit., nos. 228 and 233).
A number of signed examples are in British collections, for example an inkstand in the Wallace Collection (INV. no. XXIIIA 35), signed by the Neapolitan craftsman Sarao; and a tray at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, by the same. A cabinet in the Royal Collection, illustrated in Catalogue of Bibelots, Miniatures and other Valuables, The Property of H. M. Queen Mary, privately printed, London, 1939, III, p. 85, no. 6 bears the inscription DE LAURENZIF F.. Very little is known of these and other craftsmen, such as Nicolaus Storace, whose signiature appears on a Neapolitan piqué inkstand, sold in these Rooms, 12 May 1970, lot 40, from the collection of Lord Rothschild.
The most notable collections of piqué have been assembled by various members of the Rothschild family, such as that of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild at Mentmore (sold by the Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, Sotheby's house sale, 23 May 1977, lots 1841-58) and that of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild at Waddesdon, discussed by Sir Geoffrey de Ballaigue op. cit., II, p. 827-844. The collection includes two inkstands related to the present lot, nos. 235 and 237. A further inkstand of related design, applied with the arms of the Medici family, is illustrated in H. Ricketts, Objects of Vertu, London, 1966, p. 64.