Lot Essay
Neoclassical mirrors and console tables such as the present lot were typically produced by skilled intagliatori in Tuscany and Liguria, but most particularly in Lucca, for the local aristocracy. Although mirrors and consoles were rarely executed en suite, they often appear to have been matched thereafter. These impressive mirrors, most often of large scale and of rectangular shape, would generally feature common stylistic elements: the crestings carved with griffins, fantastical creatures or dogs as here, often centred by a foliate urn, an oval medallion with masks, or a cameo portrait, and the sides hung with foliate trails and husks.
A closely related example is in the Palazzo Rospigliosi in Pistoia, illustrated in A.M. Massinelli, Il Mobile Toscano, fig. LXXXI, p. 183. Other examples of Lucchese mirrors and consoles include those in Palazzo Cenami Spada in Lucca (illustrated in S. Chiarugi, Botteghe di Mobilieri in Toscana, Florence, 1994, vol. 1, p. 80, fig. 50); and those described and illustrated in E. Colle, Il Mobile Neoclassico in Italia, Milano, 2005, p. 210 and p. 212. A further related example of mirror and console was sold from a Roman Residence at Christie's, Milan, 15 May 2006, lot 575.
A closely related example is in the Palazzo Rospigliosi in Pistoia, illustrated in A.M. Massinelli, Il Mobile Toscano, fig. LXXXI, p. 183. Other examples of Lucchese mirrors and consoles include those in Palazzo Cenami Spada in Lucca (illustrated in S. Chiarugi, Botteghe di Mobilieri in Toscana, Florence, 1994, vol. 1, p. 80, fig. 50); and those described and illustrated in E. Colle, Il Mobile Neoclassico in Italia, Milano, 2005, p. 210 and p. 212. A further related example of mirror and console was sold from a Roman Residence at Christie's, Milan, 15 May 2006, lot 575.