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Lot Essay
The ivory inlay of this cabinet, with its historical scenes, the columns and geometric inlay to the doors belongs to a small group of ivory-inlaid cabinets and plaques from the 1590s to the 1640s. A bureau cabinet of the 18th century, entirely decorated with panels from such a late 16th early 17th cabinet, incorporates very closely related inlay. It includes the elaborate frames to the main scenes of the doors framed by alternating square and round panels while the decoration is clearly based on the same source (A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, Roma e il Regno delle due Sicilie, Milan, 1984, vol. I, p. 242 and vol. II, p. 189, figs. 430 - 433). This cabinet in the Galleria Doria Pamphilij, Rome, is attributed to the same craftsmen as a cabinet in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg and another in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, by Alvar González-Palacios (idem., p. 242).
Alvar González-Palacios believes that all these cabinets can be attributed to the same makers who signed that in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Giovanni Battista De Curtis, Gennaro Picicato and an anonymous cabinet-maker who may be identified as Iacobo Fiamengo (González-Palacios, idem, vol. I, pp. 239 - 240, vol. II, pp. 182 - 183, figs. 412 - 415). De Curtis signed one of the main ivory panels on that cabinet, while Picicato signed and dated the ivory panel of the world map as Ianarius Picicato fecit Anno 1597. Unfortunately no further information is known about Picicato. However, the cabinet-maker Iacobo Fiamengo is recorded working with various ivory engravers in the 1590, including Iacobus Manganiello and Petrus Pax, which indicates the presence of several ivory engravers in Naples at the time.
Another cabinet that may be included in this group is that, apparently not recorded by González-Palacios, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. Although the architectural structure of this cabinet is different from the aforementioned examples, it incorporates apparently very similar historical scenes and ornamental panels. A further cabinet from this group is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and incorporates a very similar arrangement of the ivory panels and closely related narratives (C. Wilk, Western Furniture 1350 to the present Day, London, 1996, pp. 50 - 51).
Some of the scenes on this cabinet are based on Torquato Tasso's (1544 - 1595) Jerusalem Delivered of 1581. The epic poem relays the various crusades undertaked by the Christians against the Muslims to regain the grave of Christ.
Alvar González-Palacios believes that all these cabinets can be attributed to the same makers who signed that in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Giovanni Battista De Curtis, Gennaro Picicato and an anonymous cabinet-maker who may be identified as Iacobo Fiamengo (González-Palacios, idem, vol. I, pp. 239 - 240, vol. II, pp. 182 - 183, figs. 412 - 415). De Curtis signed one of the main ivory panels on that cabinet, while Picicato signed and dated the ivory panel of the world map as Ianarius Picicato fecit Anno 1597. Unfortunately no further information is known about Picicato. However, the cabinet-maker Iacobo Fiamengo is recorded working with various ivory engravers in the 1590, including Iacobus Manganiello and Petrus Pax, which indicates the presence of several ivory engravers in Naples at the time.
Another cabinet that may be included in this group is that, apparently not recorded by González-Palacios, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. Although the architectural structure of this cabinet is different from the aforementioned examples, it incorporates apparently very similar historical scenes and ornamental panels. A further cabinet from this group is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and incorporates a very similar arrangement of the ivory panels and closely related narratives (C. Wilk, Western Furniture 1350 to the present Day, London, 1996, pp. 50 - 51).
Some of the scenes on this cabinet are based on Torquato Tasso's (1544 - 1595) Jerusalem Delivered of 1581. The epic poem relays the various crusades undertaked by the Christians against the Muslims to regain the grave of Christ.