TRAPANI, SICILY, SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details

A CORAL AND ENAMEL-MOUNTED GILT-COPPER OCTAGONAL MIRROR
TRAPANI, SICILY, SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY
The central plate within a frame of pierced rosettes, scrolling foliage and stars set with masks, the reverse engraved with stylised foliage and flowerheads
18 1/8 in. (46 cm.) high; 22 in. (55.9 cm.) high, overall

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
M. Concetta di Natale ed., Il Corallo Trapanese nei secoli XVI e XVII, Brescia, 2002, nos. 16 and 17.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Sale room notice

Please note that this lot should only be marked with an Import * and note a CITES ~ and as such import VAT will be payable at 5% on the hammer in addition to the usual 20% VAT on the Buyer's Premium.

Brought to you by

Donald Johnston

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Lot Essay

Both in its natural form and when intricately carved, coral has been a prized material, and ever since antiquity has been held to have magical or medicinal properties. Trapani, a small town by the sea near Palermo, was certainly the most important centre of production, with its output supported by the court of the Sicilian Viceroy from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The intensely calligraphic impact of these 'Trapani wares', with dense patterns of intertwined enamel and coral foliage on a lustrous gilt-bronze ground, betrays the strong Moorish influence on Sicilian art.

The most luxurious objects were usually embellished with enamels, such as this mirror frame. Related Trapani frames include examples in Santiago da Compostela and formerly in the Whitaker collection, illustrated in M.C. di Natale ed., Splendori di Sicilia, exh. cat., Milan, 2001, p. 50, fig. 48, and p. 33, fig. 15.

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