PROBABLY NAPLES, FIRST HALF 18TH CENTURY

These balustrades are inlaid with white and coloured marbles in the tradition of ecclesiastical ornaments and architectural fittings, extant since Medieval times, known as marmi commessi. More usually balustrades of this type have three-dimensional vase-shaped balusters. However, as here, designs from Naples in the late 17th century deviated from this pattern by using flat, two-dimensional, balusters. This is credited to the sculptor Cosimo Fanzago (1591-1678) who designed a staircase at the monastery of San Martino in Naples where balusters carved in the round alternate with fretted, two-dimensional, ones. Specifically, the pierced double-scrolled balusters here can be compared to those on the more elaborate altar balustrade, also by Fanzago, at the chapel of Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio in Naples. From the first half of the 18th century, these balustrades are testament to the popularity of Fanzago's style with continued to influence Neapolitan craftsmen well after his death.
A closely comparable pair are in the Gilbert Collection (Massinelli, cat. no. 46.) and are discussed in S. Medlam and L.-E. Miller, Princely Treasures, European Masterpieces 1600-1800, From the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2011, pp. 70-71.