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Lot Essay
These richly carved console tables are characteristic of those produced in Northern Italy in the late 17th and early 18th century. The dramatic and sculptural acanthus-wrapped S-scroll supports, as well as the large scale finial to the stretcher, are reminiscent of a Turinese design for a console, now in the Savoia-Carignano collection of designs in the State archives in Turin (E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan, 2000, p. 424.)
Following the end of the sixty-five year war between France and Spain for control of Italy, which was formalised in The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, Henry II of France restored Savoy and Piedmont to Spain’s ally, Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy. It was under the reign of Emmanuel-Philbert that Savoy’s capital was moved from Chambéry to Turin, in 1562. Emmanuel-Philibert’s reign marked the first phase in the construction of those ducal properties and subsequent commissions for luxurious furnishings, which would become the basis of the 17th century development, referred to by Amedeo Castellamonte as the ‘corona di delitie’, (or ‘crown of delights’) (H. Millon, The Triumph of the Baroque. Architecture in Europe 1600-1750, London, 1999, p. 352).
The present pair of consoles were conceived in the early 18th century, during the reign of Victor Amadeus II (1675-1732). The Turinese style, that of these consoles, was strongly influenced by the work of Filippo Juvarra who was appointed chief court architect. Juvarra was responsible for the construction of the Palace of Stupinigi, the Royal Hunting lodge on the outskirts of Turin, and The Palazzo Madama in its centre and his designs were seen as ‘the symbolic reference of the age’ (op. cit. p. 362). It is likely the present pair of consoles, designed and manufactured during this period of intense creativity and expansion were intended for an important and prestigious commission. Related Piedmontese consoles are in Galleria Sabauda, the Villa della Regina (inv. 843.L), and the Palazzo Reale, Turin.
THE PALAZZINA VITALE
Located on the banks of the Po in Turin, overlooking the hill and the Monte dei Cappuccini, The Palazzina Vitale was built between 1898 and 1904 and designed by the architect Annibale Rigotti (1870-1968), for the lawyer Gian Giacomo Vitale. It is the only example of a 'Neo-Rococo' palace built in Turin in the style of the Piedmontese palaces of the first half of the 18th century, such as those designed by Juvarra. The plans were signed by the engineer Carlo Valle, since Rigotti was not yet qualified in time to officially practise his profession.
Gian Giacomo Vitale furnished the Palazzo with important 18th century Italian decorative arts, and the present consoles were placed in the great living room, under the mirrored trumeaux of the walls perpendicular to the façade .
The Palazzina was subsequently acquired by Count Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia (1879-1959), son of Roberto Biscaretti di Ruffia, an Italian senator who participated in the constitution of the Fiat company in 1899. The house now bears his name. The palazzo was acquired by the Fiat group in the mid-1970s, who subsequently sold it in the early 2000s.
These richly carved console tables are characteristic of those produced in Northern Italy in the late 17th and early 18th century. The dramatic and sculptural acanthus-wrapped S-scroll supports, as well as the large scale finial to the stretcher, are reminiscent of a Turinese design for a console, now in the Savoia-Carignano collection of designs in the State archives in Turin (E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan, 2000, p. 424.)
Following the end of the sixty-five year war between France and Spain for control of Italy, which was formalised in The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, Henry II of France restored Savoy and Piedmont to Spain’s ally, Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy. It was under the reign of Emmanuel-Philbert that Savoy’s capital was moved from Chambéry to Turin, in 1562. Emmanuel-Philibert’s reign marked the first phase in the construction of those ducal properties and subsequent commissions for luxurious furnishings, which would become the basis of the 17th century development, referred to by Amedeo Castellamonte as the ‘corona di delitie’, (or ‘crown of delights’) (H. Millon, The Triumph of the Baroque. Architecture in Europe 1600-1750, London, 1999, p. 352).
The present pair of consoles were conceived in the early 18th century, during the reign of Victor Amadeus II (1675-1732). The Turinese style, that of these consoles, was strongly influenced by the work of Filippo Juvarra who was appointed chief court architect. Juvarra was responsible for the construction of the Palace of Stupinigi, the Royal Hunting lodge on the outskirts of Turin, and The Palazzo Madama in its centre and his designs were seen as ‘the symbolic reference of the age’ (op. cit. p. 362). It is likely the present pair of consoles, designed and manufactured during this period of intense creativity and expansion were intended for an important and prestigious commission. Related Piedmontese consoles are in Galleria Sabauda, the Villa della Regina (inv. 843.L), and the Palazzo Reale, Turin.
THE PALAZZINA VITALE
Located on the banks of the Po in Turin, overlooking the hill and the Monte dei Cappuccini, The Palazzina Vitale was built between 1898 and 1904 and designed by the architect Annibale Rigotti (1870-1968), for the lawyer Gian Giacomo Vitale. It is the only example of a 'Neo-Rococo' palace built in Turin in the style of the Piedmontese palaces of the first half of the 18th century, such as those designed by Juvarra. The plans were signed by the engineer Carlo Valle, since Rigotti was not yet qualified in time to officially practise his profession.
Gian Giacomo Vitale furnished the Palazzo with important 18th century Italian decorative arts, and the present consoles were placed in the great living room, under the mirrored trumeaux of the walls perpendicular to the façade .
The Palazzina was subsequently acquired by Count Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia (1879-1959), son of Roberto Biscaretti di Ruffia, an Italian senator who participated in the constitution of the Fiat company in 1899. The house now bears his name. The palazzo was acquired by the Fiat group in the mid-1970s, who subsequently sold it in the early 2000s.