ROME, CIRCA 1710-20

The bold, deeply sculpted lines of this dramatic console display the skill and ingenuity of Roman carving at the end of the seventeenth century. Designs by artists such as Ciro Ferri (1634-1689) and Johann Paul Schor (1615-1674) inspired craftsmen to create a new design aesthetic that echoed the influences of the Baroque style disseminated in Rome by Bernini. The traditional heraldic and architectural vernacular gave way to naturalistic forms which became the foundation for some of their most sophisticated and often increasingly abstract works. This sumptuous table, carved with bold twisting scrolls, strapwork and a female mask hung with festoons, is typical of the elaborate work of Roman intagliatori of the late seventeenth and the early eighteenth century. In spite of being unquestionably lavish and abundantly decorated, this console table does not appear to be overcrowded and it retains a sense of balance through dramatic symmetry and a thoughtful use of just a few well-placed highly sculptural decorative elements that is a hallmark of Roman Baroque furniture created in the late 1600s and early 1700s. For comparable giltwood console tables with similarly dramatic sculptural elements arranged in a well-balanced manner, see E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan, 2000, pp. 122-123.