BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES WITH FRUIT

Details

GALLERIA DEI LAVORI, FLORENCE, CIRCA 1650
BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES WITH FRUIT
Pietra dura panel; in a later gilt-bronze frame
15 ¼ x 11 in. (39 x 27.8 cm.), overall

Provenance

Giovanni Sarti, Paris.
Gianni Versace; his sale, Sotheby's, New York, 6 April 2001, lot 147.
Giovanni Sarti, Paris, 2006, where acquired by the present owner.

Literature

G. Sarti, Fastueux objets en marbre et pierres dures, Paris, 2006, pp. 118.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU or, if the UK has withdrawn from the EU without an agreed transition deal, from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

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Lot Essay

The present scene of birds perched on the stalks of fruit is reminiscent of certain paintings of the 15th and early 16th century, which depict birds shown on a stone ledge in front of the Virgin and Child. The disproportion between the birds and fruit is similar to that of Galleria dei Lavori tabletops from around 1600, such as one depicting interlacing dolphins in the Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie, Paris, which has an enormous quince, very similar to that in the present plaque. It is notable to see the great care taken in the sample of stones, such as that which perfectly renders the appearance of an overripe pear.

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