SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

Details

AN ITALIAN SCAGLIOLIA TABLE TOP
SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY
The table top of rectangular form, with a lion to the center, satyrs to each corner and fruits, fauna and flowering vines along the borders, together with two stone Ionic capitals
1 ½ in. (4 cm.) high, 58 ½ in. (148.5 cm.) wide, 33 ¼ in. (84.5 cm.) deep

Provenance

Acquired from Arthur Davidson, London, 1976.
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago.

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Vicki Paloympis

alsdorfcollection@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The design of this scagliola top is based on pietre dure tops of the second half 17th/early 18th century, such as that presented by archduke Cosimo III of Florence to Prince Karl Albrecht of Bavaria in 1716 which is today at Schloss Nymphenburg. That table top with its stand was made in the ducal workshops in Florence after designs by Giovanni Battista Foggini (d. 1715) and Vittorio Crosten. The counterpart to the Nymphenburg example is today at Palazzo Pitti. Both table tops have the classically scrolling foliage with interspersed birds. The borders are differing between the two tables as the Nymphenburg example was re-worked, while the central parts were made in 1704 to the designs of the carver Crosten.

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