MID-18TH CENTURY

Typical of the Barocchetto period, this type of chandelier were produced from the end of the 17th century until the mid-18th century and were favoured by the Ligurian and Piedmontese aristocratic families and by the Court. Often these chandeliers were surmounted by a crown, alluding to their noble patronage. Various models of related chandeliers of the first half of the 18th century, particularly recognizable with their faceted and jewelled crown motif to the upper section are conserved in the Palazzo Reale in both the Sala di Colazione, in the alcove next to the sala di colazione and as well as in the third antechamber of the second floor, as illustrated in Vittorio Viale, Mostra del Barocco Piemontese, catalogue exhibition, Vol.III, Turin, 1963, plates 284 and 286 a and b, while other related chandeliers in the French manner ‘à lacet’ are present in other rooms of the palazzo Reale, including in the camera di lavoro della Regina. A closely related pair of chandeliers from the Piaggio Collection from a Genoese Villa was sold in these Rooms, 23 September 2015, lot 24 (£152,500) while a similar example from the Estate of the late Giuseppe Rossi was sold Sotheby’s, London, 10-12 March 1999, lot 159 (£62,000).