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Lot Essay
This jewel-like inkstand and the preceding lot are decorated in the technique called piqué. This technique of inlaying tortoiseshell with mother-of-pearl, gold and silver probably originated in Naples towards the end of the 16th Century. Judging by the number of contemporary references to the Neapolitan piqué work and the surviving pieces which bear the signatures of Neapolitan craftsmen, Naples would seem to have been the centre of production. Many references to piqué work can also be found in advertisements and sale catalogues of the 17th and 18th Centuries. In his catalogue The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, London, 1974, II, p. 838, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue refers to the collection of 'picay' work formed by Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III, which included an inkstand and two snuffboxes, all later sold at Christie's, London, 18 May 1819, lot 30; 25 May 1819, lot 67 and 26 May 1819, lot 17. In a letter dated 1771 Lady Anne Miller refers to a comb bought while in Naples (Lady Anne Miller, Letters from Italy, London, 1776, III, p. 243-244, see de Bellaigue, op. cit., p. 838):
'... this city (Naples) is famous for a manufacture in tortoiseshell, which they inlay curiously with gold, and are very ingenious at representing any object you choose. I have had a comb made for my chignon incrusted with gold, to imitate an Etruscan border, copied from an antique vase, which is so well done, that we have bespoke several other articles..'.
A number of signed examples are in British collections, for example an inkstand in the Wallace Collection (INV. no. XXIIIA 35), signed by the Neapolitan craftsman Sarao; and a tray at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, by the same. A cabinet in the Royal Collection, illustrated in Catalogue of Bibelots, Miniatures and other Valuables, The Property of H. M. Queen Mary, privately printed, London, 1939, III, p. 85, no. 6 bears the inscription DE LAURENZIF F.. Very little is known of these and other craftsmen, such as Nicolaus Storace, whose signiature appears on a Neapolitan piqué inkstand, sold, Christie's, London, 12 May 1970, lot 40, from the collection of Lord Rothschild.
The most notable collections of piqué have been assembled by various members of the Rothschild family, such as that of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild at Mentmore (sold by the Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, Sotheby's house sale, 23 May 1977, lots 1841-58) and that of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild at Waddesdon, discussed by Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue op. cit., II, p. 827-844. The collection includes two inkstands related to the present lot, nos. 235 and 237. A further inkstand of related design, applied with the arms of the Medici family, is illustrated in H. Ricketts, Objects of Vertu, London, 1966, p. 64.
'... this city (Naples) is famous for a manufacture in tortoiseshell, which they inlay curiously with gold, and are very ingenious at representing any object you choose. I have had a comb made for my chignon incrusted with gold, to imitate an Etruscan border, copied from an antique vase, which is so well done, that we have bespoke several other articles..'.
A number of signed examples are in British collections, for example an inkstand in the Wallace Collection (INV. no. XXIIIA 35), signed by the Neapolitan craftsman Sarao; and a tray at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, by the same. A cabinet in the Royal Collection, illustrated in Catalogue of Bibelots, Miniatures and other Valuables, The Property of H. M. Queen Mary, privately printed, London, 1939, III, p. 85, no. 6 bears the inscription DE LAURENZIF F.. Very little is known of these and other craftsmen, such as Nicolaus Storace, whose signiature appears on a Neapolitan piqué inkstand, sold, Christie's, London, 12 May 1970, lot 40, from the collection of Lord Rothschild.
The most notable collections of piqué have been assembled by various members of the Rothschild family, such as that of Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild at Mentmore (sold by the Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, Sotheby's house sale, 23 May 1977, lots 1841-58) and that of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild at Waddesdon, discussed by Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue op. cit., II, p. 827-844. The collection includes two inkstands related to the present lot, nos. 235 and 237. A further inkstand of related design, applied with the arms of the Medici family, is illustrated in H. Ricketts, Objects of Vertu, London, 1966, p. 64.