.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
In Ovid's Metamorphosis, Perseus slayed the gorgon Medusa, and the blood which flowed from her head turned to coral when it fell to the ground. As a result, coral has always been held to have magical or medicinal properties, and has been used throughout history as a talisman to aid with problems of bleeding, fertility and, in the Renaissance, for the detection of poison in foods.
Both in its natural form and intricately carved, coral has been a prized material, and production of coral items are documented in European centres as far afield as Landshut, in Bavaria, and Sicily. The most famous of these was Trapani, where the court of the Sicilian Viceroy was an important source of patronage for the coral workers there. The main period for this production is generally agreed to have begun in the late 16th Century, and continued through the 17th and 18th Centuries. The coral, usually combined with a gilt-copper ground and often embellished with enamels, was fashioned into a variety of religious and secular items including crucifixes, monstrances, mirror frames and tazze.
The present table cabinet represents one of the most ambitious examples of this work, both for its impressive scale and the complexity of the design. It also appears to be virtually unique in its overall form, and almost certainly represents a particular princely commission. A cross-fertilisation of cultures is evident in the seemingly 'moorish' patterns created on the rectangular panels of the front of the cabinet, and each of the pieces of coral - from the carefully chamfered 'bricks' to the fish scale pieces on the dome - have been individually sculpted to produce the elaborate overall effect. The lavishness of the production extends even to the enamelling of the wings of the gilt-bronze carytid figures which adorn the feet and cabinet façade.
Apart from any purely functional role this cabinet may have served, it was also consciously designed to overawe the viewer with its use of costly materials and labour-intensive craftsmanship. The balustraded gallery may also originally have been adorned with independent coral objects to enhance further the visual effect, as well as the reputation of its princely patron among his guests.
This magnificent cabinet was almost certainly bought by Alexander, 4th Marquess of Bath, possibly during an intensive Grand Tour when he spent two years in Venice. He was later Ambassador Extraordinary, eventually dying in Venice in 1896. The 4th Marquess obviously had a particular liking for Trapani work as both a Trapani frame and a Trapani casket collected by him remain at Longleat.
Both in its natural form and intricately carved, coral has been a prized material, and production of coral items are documented in European centres as far afield as Landshut, in Bavaria, and Sicily. The most famous of these was Trapani, where the court of the Sicilian Viceroy was an important source of patronage for the coral workers there. The main period for this production is generally agreed to have begun in the late 16th Century, and continued through the 17th and 18th Centuries. The coral, usually combined with a gilt-copper ground and often embellished with enamels, was fashioned into a variety of religious and secular items including crucifixes, monstrances, mirror frames and tazze.
The present table cabinet represents one of the most ambitious examples of this work, both for its impressive scale and the complexity of the design. It also appears to be virtually unique in its overall form, and almost certainly represents a particular princely commission. A cross-fertilisation of cultures is evident in the seemingly 'moorish' patterns created on the rectangular panels of the front of the cabinet, and each of the pieces of coral - from the carefully chamfered 'bricks' to the fish scale pieces on the dome - have been individually sculpted to produce the elaborate overall effect. The lavishness of the production extends even to the enamelling of the wings of the gilt-bronze carytid figures which adorn the feet and cabinet façade.
Apart from any purely functional role this cabinet may have served, it was also consciously designed to overawe the viewer with its use of costly materials and labour-intensive craftsmanship. The balustraded gallery may also originally have been adorned with independent coral objects to enhance further the visual effect, as well as the reputation of its princely patron among his guests.
This magnificent cabinet was almost certainly bought by Alexander, 4th Marquess of Bath, possibly during an intensive Grand Tour when he spent two years in Venice. He was later Ambassador Extraordinary, eventually dying in Venice in 1896. The 4th Marquess obviously had a particular liking for Trapani work as both a Trapani frame and a Trapani casket collected by him remain at Longleat.