Lot Essay
This type of boldly carved scrolled acanthus leaf mirror was produced in various centres in Italy in the later 17th first half 18th Century, such an example sold anonymously, in these Rooms, 23 June 1999, lot 99 (also illustrated in E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milano, 2000, p.112). Carvers were inspired by engravings for example those of Filippo Passarini 'Nuove inventioni d'ornamenti...', executed in Rome in 1698 (Op.cit., p.110, pl.24). Often executed en suite with console tables, this example, however, reminiscent of the work executed by the workshop of the Fantoni family in Rovetta (near Bergamo). One of the leading names in the art of 'Intaglio', Andrea Fantoni (1659-1734) comes from a dynasty of carvers famous for their celebrated work in churches around Bergamo already from the mid-15th Century. With his brothers Donato and Gian Battista, Andrea led the workshop active with the production of such sought after mirrors. Designs and drawings relating to this type of mirror are in the Fondazione Fantoni in Rovetta. (op. cit. p.386, pl.96, and C. Alberici, Il Mobile Lombardo, Milano, 1969, pp.96-97). Another related mirror was sold anonymously, Christie's New York, 5-6 February 2002, lot 588.