POSSIBLY NAPLES, CIRCA 1800

Details

A SUITE OF ITALIAN FAUX-PORPHYRY, POLYCHROME-PAINTED AND PARCEL-GILT FURNITURE
POSSIBLY NAPLES, CIRCA 1800
Comprising a center table and a pair of armchairs; the circular table top in faux-scagiola centered by a monogram ML within pearled swags, the base headed by lions on low cabriole legs with paw feet, the armchairs each with U-form frame headed by lion heads, with refreshments to the decoration
30 ½ in. (77 cm.) high, 27 ½ in. (70 cm.) diameter, the table

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 28 May 1993, lot 351.
A Private Collector; Christie's, London, 16 December 1999, lot 99.

Special notice

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Lot Essay

The quality of these pieces suggests an important and likely Royal or aristocratic patron. What follows is a list of likely women, with Italian connection and ML monograms, by whom the present suite may have been commissioned:

- Empress Marie-Louise (1791-1847) the second with of Napoleon I. Marie Louise is linked to the city of Naples through her relationship with Napoleon’s sister, Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples.
- The Grand-Duchess of Tuscany, Luisa Maria Amelia Teresa (1773-1802). Lusia was the wife of Ferdinand III and daughter of Maria Carolina of Austria (1752-1814), Queen of Naples and Sicily.
- The Infanta Maria Luisa who was the daughter of Charles IV, King of Spain.
- Maria Luisa (1751-1819), daughter of the Duke of Parma. She became Queen of Spain after her marriage to Charles IV of Spain in 1765.

Paint analysis has revealed that the painted porphyry surface of the present suite is consistent with a date of circa 1800. This suite is then an example of particular rarity and is beautifully preserved.

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