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Lot Essay
This spectacular inlaid marble top, which last appeared on the market in the early 1970’s, is an outstanding example of top which combines both techniques of Roman intarsio and commesso work from circa 1600. Intarsio is an ancient technique revived in Rome in the late 16th century. It consists of carving out a white marble slab in shaped geometric forms and then inlaying them with finely cut out marble pieces which perfectly fit the corresponding cut-out shape, giving the pieces of inset marble a contrasting white frame highlighting the cartouches, as visible to the border of our top. The second technique called commesso (known as well as Florentine mosaic) is the art of cutting out and putting together different contrasting marbles and pietre dure in order to create a picturesque naturalistic free-flowing design, as seen on the central ground of our top, where the white marble borders outlining the design are not visible anymore. This mosaic technique which was primarily used in the Florentine production, was then gradually seen on the Roman production as well, however the combination of both techniques was more often used in Rome.
This top is closely related to a small group of tops executed by the Florentine craftsman Pietro Carli, apparently active in Rome at the end of the 16th century, on the basis of its close similarities in the design to a signed example which is conserved in All Souls College, Oxford, (illustrated here) as well as to a top sold anonymously Christie’s New York, 13 April 2016, lot 8 ($725.000) (illustrated here). The top here offered displays two stylized crowns left and right of the oval central reserve while the All Souls College top, as well as the other described top depict polychrome baskets of a similar nature and in the same place around the oval central reserve, surrounded by typical and recognizable strapwork. Both tops display a rich array of entwined foliate scrolls and military trophies similar to the one found on our top as well as closely related shields and cartouches to the border. The main difference being that our example is still embellished with birds at the corners of the central fields and salamanders. This group of marble tops is traditionally thought to have been made in Rome, while the Florentine production of the period is most closely associated with the Medici workshops, and has a quite different, distinctively naturalistic style with a more pronounced use of hardstones creating a polychrome mosaic against a black ground. Our top is further related to an example conserved in Hatfield House, described as Florentine circa 1614, because of the similarities with the lapis lazuli fan shaped motifs surrounding the alabastro centre of the top, see A. Gonzàlez-Palacios, Las Colecciones Reales Espanolas de Mosaicos y Pietras Duras, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2001, p.91.
The extravagant display of coloured marbles and hardstones was emblematic of the supreme power and prestige of Ancient Rome. The military trophies, as well as the foliate and floral scrolls flanking the trophies, are themes that became part of the decorative repertoire of tables made in Rome after 1580; the same applies to the black marble background which was called at the time called 'Black of Flanders', and which appears frequently as a background to the commesso, in both Rome and Florence, in the two last decades of the sixteenth century. In Rome, commesso work was closely associated with enlightened architects and designers such as Jacopo Vignola (1507-73) who provided the design for the celebrated table supplied to Alessandro Farnese circa 1565, now conserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1533-1609). Their early work attracted the interest of wealthy and sophisticated patrons such as Cardinale Giovanni Rici of Montepulciano and Cosimo I Medici, whose fascination for the art of inlaying marbles led to the foundation of the celebrated Medici workshop by his son Ferdinando. Ferdinando de Medici, who before succeeding his brother Francesco on the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1587, resided for a long time in Rome, after his appointment as cardinal occurred in 1563. During the time he spent in Rome, Ferdinando already showed a keen interest for the art of marbles and pietre dure. This led him in to establish the “Galleria dei Lavori”, or the grand-ducal workshop in Florence in 1588, which worked exclusively for the Florence court, and was dedicated to perfecting the art of commesso.
The question of the manufacturing centre of these tops, Rome or Florence, has always been source of much discussion and debate among scholars, given the close proximity of the two cities, the connections and the similarity of styles used in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. Aside from the Gran Ducal ateliers, there were numerous smaller workshops in Florence working in specimen marbles and pietre dure, and craftsmen specialized in marble inlay came from various places and were much in demand in other production centers as well. It is known that quite a few Florentine craftsmen were at some point active in Rome, like Francesco Baronio and Ludovico da Fiesole, who were reported active in the 1560’s for the papal court. Another craftsman of Florentine origin active in Rome was Pietro Carli. He is probably the author of the top here offered. Pietro Carli is known as he signed the edge of the top now located in Oxford, and this remain an almost unique case of identification as most top are unsigned. According to Anna Maria Giusti, Pietro Carli is perhaps the same person described as “Pietro fiorentino” who in 1569 was working as an assistant carver in the laboratory of Ferdinando de Medici, in his Roman residence at Palazzo Firenze.
The top here offered appeared at auction in London in 1973, sold from the collection of Mrs Thyrni Webster. At the time, the top was set in an Antiquarian 19th century giltwood base, but was already fitted with the 19th century ormolu border, which is now framing the top. The oval center reserve wasn’t fitted at the time with the present lapis lazuli plaque, but with a Florentine pierta dura oval plaque depicting a bird perched on a fruited branch against a slate ground. Interestingly, the catalogue description of 1973 implied that the bird plaque was not original to the top: ‘…and crown oval in lapis lazuli, and now enclosing a black slate panel inlaid with a bird…’ The bird plaque was obviously removed and replaced by the lapis lazuli oval panel which probably reflected the original composition with the presence of the four existing fan-shaped lapis lazuli lappets elements.
This top is closely related to a small group of tops executed by the Florentine craftsman Pietro Carli, apparently active in Rome at the end of the 16th century, on the basis of its close similarities in the design to a signed example which is conserved in All Souls College, Oxford, (illustrated here) as well as to a top sold anonymously Christie’s New York, 13 April 2016, lot 8 ($725.000) (illustrated here). The top here offered displays two stylized crowns left and right of the oval central reserve while the All Souls College top, as well as the other described top depict polychrome baskets of a similar nature and in the same place around the oval central reserve, surrounded by typical and recognizable strapwork. Both tops display a rich array of entwined foliate scrolls and military trophies similar to the one found on our top as well as closely related shields and cartouches to the border. The main difference being that our example is still embellished with birds at the corners of the central fields and salamanders. This group of marble tops is traditionally thought to have been made in Rome, while the Florentine production of the period is most closely associated with the Medici workshops, and has a quite different, distinctively naturalistic style with a more pronounced use of hardstones creating a polychrome mosaic against a black ground. Our top is further related to an example conserved in Hatfield House, described as Florentine circa 1614, because of the similarities with the lapis lazuli fan shaped motifs surrounding the alabastro centre of the top, see A. Gonzàlez-Palacios, Las Colecciones Reales Espanolas de Mosaicos y Pietras Duras, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2001, p.91.
The extravagant display of coloured marbles and hardstones was emblematic of the supreme power and prestige of Ancient Rome. The military trophies, as well as the foliate and floral scrolls flanking the trophies, are themes that became part of the decorative repertoire of tables made in Rome after 1580; the same applies to the black marble background which was called at the time called 'Black of Flanders', and which appears frequently as a background to the commesso, in both Rome and Florence, in the two last decades of the sixteenth century. In Rome, commesso work was closely associated with enlightened architects and designers such as Jacopo Vignola (1507-73) who provided the design for the celebrated table supplied to Alessandro Farnese circa 1565, now conserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1533-1609). Their early work attracted the interest of wealthy and sophisticated patrons such as Cardinale Giovanni Rici of Montepulciano and Cosimo I Medici, whose fascination for the art of inlaying marbles led to the foundation of the celebrated Medici workshop by his son Ferdinando. Ferdinando de Medici, who before succeeding his brother Francesco on the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1587, resided for a long time in Rome, after his appointment as cardinal occurred in 1563. During the time he spent in Rome, Ferdinando already showed a keen interest for the art of marbles and pietre dure. This led him in to establish the “Galleria dei Lavori”, or the grand-ducal workshop in Florence in 1588, which worked exclusively for the Florence court, and was dedicated to perfecting the art of commesso.
The question of the manufacturing centre of these tops, Rome or Florence, has always been source of much discussion and debate among scholars, given the close proximity of the two cities, the connections and the similarity of styles used in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. Aside from the Gran Ducal ateliers, there were numerous smaller workshops in Florence working in specimen marbles and pietre dure, and craftsmen specialized in marble inlay came from various places and were much in demand in other production centers as well. It is known that quite a few Florentine craftsmen were at some point active in Rome, like Francesco Baronio and Ludovico da Fiesole, who were reported active in the 1560’s for the papal court. Another craftsman of Florentine origin active in Rome was Pietro Carli. He is probably the author of the top here offered. Pietro Carli is known as he signed the edge of the top now located in Oxford, and this remain an almost unique case of identification as most top are unsigned. According to Anna Maria Giusti, Pietro Carli is perhaps the same person described as “Pietro fiorentino” who in 1569 was working as an assistant carver in the laboratory of Ferdinando de Medici, in his Roman residence at Palazzo Firenze.
The top here offered appeared at auction in London in 1973, sold from the collection of Mrs Thyrni Webster. At the time, the top was set in an Antiquarian 19th century giltwood base, but was already fitted with the 19th century ormolu border, which is now framing the top. The oval center reserve wasn’t fitted at the time with the present lapis lazuli plaque, but with a Florentine pierta dura oval plaque depicting a bird perched on a fruited branch against a slate ground. Interestingly, the catalogue description of 1973 implied that the bird plaque was not original to the top: ‘…and crown oval in lapis lazuli, and now enclosing a black slate panel inlaid with a bird…’ The bird plaque was obviously removed and replaced by the lapis lazuli oval panel which probably reflected the original composition with the presence of the four existing fan-shaped lapis lazuli lappets elements.