A NORTH ITALIAN ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD SATINWOOD AND PARQUETRY COMMODE
Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more
A NORTH ITALIAN ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD SATINWOOD AND PARQUETRY COMMODE

TURIN, SIGNED GIUSEPPE VIGLIONE, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details
A NORTH ITALIAN ORMOLU-MOUNTED KINGWOOD, TULIPWOOD SATINWOOD AND PARQUETRY COMMODE
TURIN, SIGNED GIUSEPPE VIGLIONE, LATE 18TH CENTURY
The later yellow figured marble veneered top above a demilune case with an architectural parquetry frieze fitted with a central drawer above two transverse veneered drawers flanked by cabinet doors, on square tapering legs, the reverse signed in pencil 'Giuseppe Viglione', the underside of the top with two inked paper labels FRAGILISSIMO IMPELLICIATO...SETTEMBRE DECEMBRE 1921, AN TIGRE CONSOLE/ERNESTO G(?)ENESTI VIA DELLA FORTERRA FIRENZE...16 29 APRILE 1940 and signed to the back edge with additional label for Ernesto Genesti
37 in. (94 cm.) high, 54½ in. (138.5 cm.) wide, 22¼ in.(56.5 cm.) deep
Provenance
(Possibly) Ernesto Genesti, Florence (according to label)
Special notice
Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

This finely crafted commode, with its jewel-like rosettes and restrained neoclassical inlay, is a rare example of a signed piece of Italian furniture from the 18th Century.

Although little known, Giuseppe Viglione appears in the documents of the Royal court of Savoy relating to several payments from 1786-1797 for furniture supplied to a number of Royal residences including the Castello di Rivoli. One intriguing payment made in 1789 is for '3 burò' (but actually describing commodes) 'placati di bosco rosa e violetto' (rosewood and kingwood) 'con tre tirori' (with three drawers, as on this commode)-- see G. Ferraris, Pietro Piffetti e gli Ebanisti a Torino 1670-1838, Turin, 1992, pp. 249-251.

The furniture of Piedmont, due its close geographical and historical proximity, is closest in spirit to the furniture of France, and this richly veneered demilune commode is a good example of the French influence on Turinese furniture. Other related Turinese demilune commodes are illustrated in E. Quaglino, Il Mobile Piemontese, 1966, pp. 155 and 158 and V. Viale ed., Il Mostro Barocco Piemontese, Turin, 1963, fig. 216, while further related straight-fronted examples were sold from the collection of the famous Turin dealer Giuseppe Rossi; Sotheby's, London, 10 March 1999, lots 62 and 63.

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