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Lot Essay
This impressive pair of architectural table cabinets were previously in the collection of Marchese Patrizio Patrizi Naro Montoro and most probably housed in their Palazzo Patrizi at the Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome (illustrated in situ in G. Lizzani, Il Mobile Romano, Milan 1970, p. 65, fig. 100). Originally from Sienna, the Patrizi family have lived here since 1642 and are related to many important Roman families, including Marquis Naro and Marquis Chigi Montoro.
Rome became a magnet for discerning collectors due to archaeological discoveries since the 16th century, which fired an enthusiasm for all things Antique. The desire to emulate the art of Ancient Rome, together with the Mannerist cult of precious materials (of which Rome had an abundant supply) combined towards the middle of the 16th century to give rise to the Roman sectional mosaic technique known as commesso (from the Latin committere, to join together). The Roman taste in pietre dure inlaid works differed from that which was predominant in Florence in that it was dominated by abstract geometrical compositions in transparent stones such as jasper, rather than naturalistic or figurative motifs such as flowers and birds with the intrinsic decoration being in the natural decorative effect of the stone markings itself.
lvar González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Roma e il Regno delle Due Sicilie, Vol. II, Milan 1984, lists the names of possible cabinetmakers such as Giacomo Herman who was regarded as the best ebanista in Rome at that time, executing pieces for the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. Other names recorded are the Germans, Giovanni Sigrist, Giovanni Falgher (Falker), and the Italians Niccolo Cavallino and Remigio Chilazzi.
Comparable cabinets with similar Roman pietra dura panels can be found in the Capitoline Museum, Rome (illustrated), the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan and Castle Howard, Yorkshire.
Rome became a magnet for discerning collectors due to archaeological discoveries since the 16th century, which fired an enthusiasm for all things Antique. The desire to emulate the art of Ancient Rome, together with the Mannerist cult of precious materials (of which Rome had an abundant supply) combined towards the middle of the 16th century to give rise to the Roman sectional mosaic technique known as commesso (from the Latin committere, to join together). The Roman taste in pietre dure inlaid works differed from that which was predominant in Florence in that it was dominated by abstract geometrical compositions in transparent stones such as jasper, rather than naturalistic or figurative motifs such as flowers and birds with the intrinsic decoration being in the natural decorative effect of the stone markings itself.
lvar González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Roma e il Regno delle Due Sicilie, Vol. II, Milan 1984, lists the names of possible cabinetmakers such as Giacomo Herman who was regarded as the best ebanista in Rome at that time, executing pieces for the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. Other names recorded are the Germans, Giovanni Sigrist, Giovanni Falgher (Falker), and the Italians Niccolo Cavallino and Remigio Chilazzi.
Comparable cabinets with similar Roman pietra dura panels can be found in the Capitoline Museum, Rome (illustrated), the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan and Castle Howard, Yorkshire.