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Lot Essay
This side table is related to one formerly in the Palazzo della Camera di Commercio, Genoa, that is now in the Toledo Museum of Art. It is recorded as having been designed under the supervision of Lorenzo de Ferrari for the Marchesi Carrega Cataldi in 1743/44, (G. Morazzoni, Il Mobile Genovese, Milan, 1962, pl. LXXVII, no. 125). The quality of the carving allows a tentative attribution to the carver Filippo Maria Mongiardino. It is interesting to note that the pierced and scrolled frieze is of the same proportion as this side table and that the Toledo table is embellished with a similar mask to the stretcher. The rich decorative scheme such as the egg-and-dart moulding to the supports, the ribbon moulding, the pearled border under the marble top and the delicate florally-swagged caryatids typifies the Genoese 'Barocchetto' period.
This side table is further closely related to one illustrated in A. Gonzlez-Palacios, Il Mobile in Liguria, Genova, 1996, p. 148, no. 173, which was probably designed by Lorenzo De Ferrari and carved by Filippo Maria Mongiardino. This side table is also similar in the use of caryatids and winged dragons that are not only on the stretcher but on the frieze as well. The winged dragons are a recurrent motif in Genoa in the first half of the 18th Century and are probably derived from Nicolas Pineau's (1684 - 1754) designs.
This side table is further closely related to one illustrated in A. Gonzlez-Palacios, Il Mobile in Liguria, Genova, 1996, p. 148, no. 173, which was probably designed by Lorenzo De Ferrari and carved by Filippo Maria Mongiardino. This side table is also similar in the use of caryatids and winged dragons that are not only on the stretcher but on the frieze as well. The winged dragons are a recurrent motif in Genoa in the first half of the 18th Century and are probably derived from Nicolas Pineau's (1684 - 1754) designs.