AN ITALIAN ENGRAVED-BONE-INLAID AND EBONISED TABLE CABINET

By the turn of the 17th century Naples was a centre for the production of table cabinets as its Spanish rulers had annexed Portugal in 1580s thereby gaining control of the trade in ivory and ebony from Goa. This supply of raw materials fostered the burgeoning production of engraved ivory goods, such as the present lot, and enticed skilled migrant craftsmen from Germany and Flanders. As the fashion took hold the mercantile classes were keen to emulate the fashionable work but using cheaper native materials. A Neapolitan table cabinet of near identical design but enclosed by doors is illustrated in Alvar Gonzlez Palacios, Il Patrimonio Artistico del Quirinale, I Mobili Italiani, Milan, 1996. A related cabinet was sold from the Duarte Pinto Coelho collection, Christie's South Kensington, 20-21 July 2011.