Lot Essay
This distinctive form of obelisk, with ball-finial supported on four spheres derives from the Venetian emblem for a Capitano da Mar or Admiral of the Venetian Republic. Introduced as an architectural motif in the mid-16th Century, they embellish the parapet of the Palazzo Papadopoli designed by Giangiacomo Grigi in the 1560's, as well as punctuating the skyline of Canaletto's painting of the 'Regatta on the Grand Canal' (illustrated in P.Lauritzen and A. Zielcke, Palaces of Venice, Oxford, 1978, pp.168-9, fig.103).
As with the pair of pietra dura and rock chrystal vases (lot 29), with which they have in all probability always been together, these obelisks also reflect the goût expounded by the Demidoff dynasty. It is, therefore extremely interesting that a similar jasper obelisk, although lacking the ball-finial, is now in the Hermitage (E.M. Effimova, Russian Stoneware in the Hermitage Museum, Lenningrad, 1961, pl. 3. A further pair of porphyry obelisks in the Palace of Pavlosk are illustrated in A. Gouzanov, 'La Restauration du Palais de Pavlovsk', L'Estampille L'Objet D'Art, May 1995, p. 62.
A pair of Louis XVI black and white marble obelisks of similar form and with intricate ormolu mounts, was sold from the estate of Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sotheby's New York, 23 April 1996, lot 323.
As with the pair of pietra dura and rock chrystal vases (lot 29), with which they have in all probability always been together, these obelisks also reflect the goût expounded by the Demidoff dynasty. It is, therefore extremely interesting that a similar jasper obelisk, although lacking the ball-finial, is now in the Hermitage (E.M. Effimova, Russian Stoneware in the Hermitage Museum, Lenningrad, 1961, pl. 3. A further pair of porphyry obelisks in the Palace of Pavlosk are illustrated in A. Gouzanov, 'La Restauration du Palais de Pavlovsk', L'Estampille L'Objet D'Art, May 1995, p. 62.
A pair of Louis XVI black and white marble obelisks of similar form and with intricate ormolu mounts, was sold from the estate of Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sotheby's New York, 23 April 1996, lot 323.