ROME, 17TH CENTURY, ATTRIBUTED TO ALESSANDRO NAVE, THE END FRIEZES 19TH CENTURY REPLACEMENTS, THE MARBLE TOP 17TH/18TH CENTURY

Details

AN ITALIAN WALNUT AND PARCEL-GILT CENTER TABLE
ROME, 17TH CENTURY, ATTRIBUTED TO ALESSANDRO NAVE, THE END FRIEZES 19TH CENTURY REPLACEMENTS, THE MARBLE TOP 17TH/18TH CENTURY
The associated verde antico marble top, above a pierced strapwork apron with coat-of-arms with bees to long sides and coat-of-arms with tree to the short sides, on richly-carved pilaster supports with floral swags, the molding below marble top later, the sides and stretcher re-supported, restorations to interior of frieze
37½ in. (95 cm.) high; 59 in. (150 cm.) wide; 47 in. (120 cm.) deep

Provenance

Probably supplied to one of the Barberini cardinals, either Francesco Barberini (1597-1679, appointed cardinal in 1623), Antonio Barberini the elder (1569-1646, appointed cardinal in 1628) or Antonio Barberini the younger (appointed cardinal in 1627).
The Contini-Bonacossi collection, Florence, where recorded in 1970.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 19 May 2004, lot 135.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 8 November 2007, lot 51.

Literature

A. González-Palacios, Arredi e Ornamenti alla Corte di Roma 1560 - 1795, Milano, 2004, p. 59.
A. González-Palacios, Fasto Romano, Rome, 1991, p. 148, cat. 68. A. González-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto: Roma e il Regno delle due Sicilie, Milan, 1984, vol. II, fig. 103.
G. Lizzani, A. Gonzlez-Palacios et al., Il Mobile Romano, Rome, 1970, p. XVIII, fig. XXII.

Special notice

From time to time, Christie's may offer a lot which it owns in whole or in part. This is such a lot. This Lot is transferred to Christie’s Redstone Post-Sale Facility in Long Island City after 5.00 pm on the last day of the sale. They will be available at Redstone on the following Monday. Property may be transferred at Christie’s discretion following the sale and we advise that you contact Purchaser Payments on +1 212 636 2495 to confirm your property’s location at any given time.

Lot Essay

This impressive table bears the armorial of the Barberini family, with three bees. The addition of a cardinal's hat would suggest that it was likely commissioned by one of the four appointed as a cardinal: Francesco Barberini, Antonio Barberini the elder, Antonio Barberini the younger or Maffeo Barberini (1568-1644), who was elected Pope Urban VIII in 1623.

Alvar González-Palacios attributes this table to the carver Alessandro Nave, mentioned in the Barberini archives as 'M. ro Alessandro Nave falegname di palazzo', and was recorded as working for the family at the Convento dei Padri Cappucini from 1632, at the Palazzo Barberini from 1629, and at Castel Gandolfo from 1637. Little else is known about Nave. Nave's son Francesco also worked for the Barberini family, supplying bookcases with the arms of Antonio Barberini the elder for the sacristy of S. Maria sopra Minerva (ill. Lizzani and Gonzlez-Palacios, op. cit., p. XVII, fig. XX).

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