A NORTH ITALIAN WALNUT AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY DESK

PROBABLY IN THE MANNER OF GIUSEPPE MAGGIOLINI, CIRCA 1800

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A NORTH ITALIAN WALNUT AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY DESK
PROBABLY IN THE MANNER OF GIUSEPPE MAGGIOLINI, CIRCA 1800
The rectangular top inlaid with a central cartouche of female sphinxes flanking a military trophy and an urn filled with fruit and issuing scrolling acanthus within a pearl and banded cartouche, the corners with acanthus sprays above a freize drawer and two small drawers flanking a kneehole, all inlaid with scrolling floral vinery within crossbanded borders, the sides and back with conforming marquetry panels, raised on cuffed square tapering legs inlaid with tapering pearls, restorations and minor structural replacements to the kneehole arrangement
32 in. (81.5 cm.) high, 46¾ in. (119 cm.) wide, 24 in. (60 cm.) deep

拍品專文

This desk relates to the work of the Milanese cabinet-maker Guiseppe Maggiolini (1793-1814). He was one of the most celebrated Italian cabinet makers of the Neo-classical period and worked extensively for the aristocracy of Northern Italy. The Marchese Litta, along with the designer Guiseppe Levati, first recognized his talents as an intarsiatore in the 1760s. His many projects included the furnishing of the Palazzo Ducale in Milan, the Villa Reale in Monza and the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua. One of the most distinctive and repeated motifs were the lush acanthus leaf scroll terminating in a flowerhead, as seen on the top of the desk. It also appears in Maggiolini's drawings as well as his executed work, such as panel on a dressing table, in G. Beretti, Giuseppe Maggiolini, Milan, 1994, figs.209, 216-218.