Dutch Colonial, Indonesia, 17th century, Casket. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

tortoiseshell, on a wood core with silver mounts, the interior lined with red velvet; 16 by 22cm., 6¼ by 8 5/8 in. Estimate 3,000-5,000 GBP

NOTE: The incised silver mounts with foliate designs on the present casket compare closely with those adorning another tortoiseshell coffer from the Dutch East Indies, formerly known as Batavia, modern-day Indonesia, which was offered at Sotheby's Zurich on 3 April 1981, lot 31. Note the handles with their similar flower petal mount plates. A particularly delightful detail of the present casket is the fictive keyhole in the centre of the lockplate; the real keyhole is only revealed once the clasp is lifted.

Demand for tortoiseshell goods flourished in Europe after Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal (1507-1578), adopted it as her material of choice for exotic diplomatic gifts. Many tortoiseshell objects were traded by the Dutch East India Company, or V.O.C., and this example would undoubtedly have been made for the European market.

Sotheby's. European Sculpture & Works of Art: Medieval to Modern. London | 02 juil. 2013 www.sothebys.com

A Flemish ebony veneered and tortoiseshell cabinet on stand, Antwerp, late 17th century, the stand 19th century. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

the cabinet with panels with raised mouldings, the hinged pagoda top with two inset painted panel to the inside depicting landscape settings flanking a mirror, the pair of doors below enclosing a tortoiseshell lined interior of architectural forn with a pediment and column ornament, with a central cupboard beneath a drawer and nine further drawers painted with landscape scenes ( two later painted in 19th century), the reverse of the cupboard doors painted with landscape scenes, with a drawer below, on a stand with a drawer and raised on turned legs; 157cm. high, 92cm. wide, 43cm. deep; 5ft. 2in., 3ft. ¼in., 1ft. 5in. Estimate 20,000-25,000 GBP

Sotheby's. European Sculpture & Works of Art: Medieval to Modern. London | 02 juil. 2013 www.sothebys.com

A pewter, brass, fruitwood and stained sycamore inlaid marquetry, ebony and ebonised cabinet on stand attributed to Pierre Gole (1620-1684), Louis XIV, circa 1680. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

the upper section of breakfront form with three frieze drawers inlaid with lunettes and bellflowers above a cupboard door inlaid with a vase of flowers on a plinth opening to reveal a fitted interior with four drawers and a parquetry floor above a further drawer flanked by panels with a ribbon-tied floral bouquet above a stylised scallopshell, the inside of the door inlaid with a vase of flowers on a plinth within an octagon with ribbon-tied floral bouquets at each angle, with two banks of four drawers inlaid with scrolling foliage and flowers similar to the internal drawers, the sides with boldly scrolled acanthus and leaves, the stand with a canted edge inlaid with trails of acanthus above three frieze drawers and a pull-out leather-lined writing slide, on spirally turned legs joined by a moulded stretcher on flattened bun feet; alterations to stretcher and feet; cabinet 82cm. high, 134cm. wide, 57cm. deep; Stand 87.5cm. high, 135cm. wide, 60cm deep; 2ft. 8¼in., 4ft. 4¾in., 1ft. 10½in., 2ft. 10½in., 4ft. 5¼in., 1ft. 11½in. Estimate 100,000-150,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Private European Collection

Comparative Literature: Monique Riccardi-Cubitt, The Art of the Cabinet, London, 1992, fig, 53.
Alexandre Pradère, French Furniture Makers, the Art of the Ebéniste from Louis XIV to the Revolution, Tours, 1989, pp. 44-51.
Pierre Ramond, Chefs-D’Oeuvres des Marqueteurs, Vol.1, 1994, Editions, H. Vial, p. 56 and pp. 74-79.  
Th. H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Pierre Gole ébéniste de Louis XIV, Dijon, 2005, pp. 138, fig, 110, p. 140, figs 11 and 112. 
Louis XIV faste et Décors Mai-Octobre,1960, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre-Pavillon de Marsan,Pl.VI, no.57.

This impressive cabinet on stand profusely inlaid with marquetry of exhuberant flowers represents the pinnacle of the art of naturalistic marquetry and is typical of the work of Dutch marqueteurs working in the 17th century who disseminated their style throughout Europe such as Pierre Gole (1620-1684) who worked for Louis XIV, Jan van Mekeren (1658-1733) working in Amsterdam,  Leonardo van de Vinne (1659-1713) in Florence. The design of the vase of flowers on a plinth is probably based upon engravings by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (d. 1699).  

The skill of the Parisian ébénistes working in the 1680’s can be seen well represented on this beautifully inlaid cabinet on stand which is almost certainly by Pierre Gole due to its striking similarity to other pieces attributed to or known to be by him. The form of the cabinet and execution of the marquetry are very much in his style with the fluid rinceaux and floral bouquets all depicted in exotic woods and in this case precious metals on a dark ebony ground providing a striking contrast executed in a virtuoso technique. 

An almost identical cabinet attributed to Pierre Gole circa 1670-80, in terms of its form, materials and marquetry, with an identical vase on the central door and identical marquetry on the drawers and frieze although on a caryatid stand, is illustrated by Lunsingh Scheurleer op. cit., p. 138, fig. 110, reproduced here in fig. 1. The inside of the illustrated cabinet has an identical vase on the inside of the door flanked by ribbon-tied bouquets at the angles, identical scallopshell and floral bouquet flanking the internal drawers and marquetry on the internal drawers and sides. It is now in a Private collection but had formerly belonged to Charles Angell of Bath, then was sold at the Palais Galleria, Paris 6-7th December 1974, lot 42; Charles de Pauw; Marc Lagrand, Paris; Galerie Gismondi, Paris, 1995, and finally sold Drouot-Richelieu sale, Paris, 21st November 2008, lot 119 (305,000E). Both cabinets are so similar in fact almost identical, they must be by the same hand and made at the same time.

The author Lunsingh Scheurleer states in respect of  the illustrated cabinet, op. cit.that in style and decoration it is a piece executed by Gole in around 1680. The architectural composition of the cabinet is typical with the central door flanked on either side by flat pilasters and a bank of drawers. There is also a plinth on the base of the cabinet in which there are three drawers. The superb quality of the flower marquetry is another indication it is by Gole and the way the shading has been done with hot sand to create a three-dimensional effect and there is the flowerhead from which there issues two leafy branches on the front of the drawers, the scrolling acanthus, the vase with the bouquet of flowers on the front and reverse of the central door and the four small bouquet of flowers which are tied with a ribbon on the angles. The use of these small bouquets by Gole can be seen in the years around 1660 for example on the cabinet in the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam circa 1662; on the tops of the tables at Burghley House, dating to around 1665 and the National Museum, Stockholm, all illustrated by the author op. cit., in figs 69, 70, 72, 103 and 104. Furthermore, the use of exotic woods such as amaranth, holly, walnut, bois satiné and green tinted fruitwood are another feature of Gole's work.

Other comparable cabinets include :

- A cabinet illustrated in the catalogue of the exhibition at the Musée des Arts décoratifs, pl. VI, no. 57, reproduced here in fig. 2, subsequently sold Christie’s London, 7th December 2006, lot 235, stated to be in the  manner of Pierre Gole (£153,000). It is inlaid in various woods, pewter and ivory. The vase on the central door differs from that on the offered cabinet and  it is surmounted by a demi-lune panel  inlaid with flowers which is missing on the offered cabinet. The inside of the latter is much more beautiful with detailed marquetry whereas the illustrated one has mainly parquetry inside and plain veneered drawers.

-A cabinet in the manner of Pierre Gole, sold in these Rooms, the Property of Helena Hayward Deceased, lot 67, 30th May 1997, reproduced here in fig. 3. Reiner Baarsen of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam assisted on the attribution to Gole of that cabinet. Although it is not on such a grand scale as the offered piece, and the central door has a more baluster shaped flower-filled vase, the plinth base is extremely similar, and so is the marquetry on the drawers, although there birds on alternate drawers on the Hayward cabinet.

-A cabinet of similar form, although inlaid in various woods and not precious metals as on the offered cabinet, and with a vase on a plinth of differing design on the door and similarly inlaid drawers, stated to be possibly by Gole, was sold, from the Collection of Professor and Mrs Clifford Ambrose Truesdell, lot  261, Christie’s, New York, 9th June 2009, (sold $ 116,500), which was subsequently attributed to Pierre Gole and sold lot 219, Hôtel Drouot, Salle I, Paris 17th November 2010 (245,000E).

-A cabinet although unattributed, however, very similar in form to all the others but with the demi-lune mouldings above the central door flanked by pilasters, with similar marquetry and on a stand composed of female terms, was sold Sotheby’s Monaco, 30th November 1986, lot 1039.  

-A cabinet with related marquetry, which was stated to be in the manner of Pierre Gole, but not as finely executed as on the offered one, sold Sotheby’s, New York, 27th October 1990, lot 53 ($150,000).

- A cabinet at Burghley House, Stamford, illustrated Lunsingh Scheurleer, op. cit.,p. 124, fig. 95, which had been acquired by the 5th Earl of Exeter, together with four guéridons and a table which were en suite, which probably date from the 1660’s. Although unlike the offered cabinet it has inlay of ivory in the flowers and green tinted horn.

- A cabinet sold Christie’s London, 23rd June 1988, lot 109, now in the Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco, illustrated Lunsingh Scheurleer, op. cit., p. 132, fig. 105. 

Pierre Gole (1620-1684): Born at Bergen, near Alkmaar, in Holland in about 1620, Pierre Gole moved at an early age to Paris. By 1643 he was working as apprentice to the menuisier en ébèneAdrien Carbrant, whose daughter he soon married and their marriage contract is dated 1645. The two younger Carbrant sisters, Marguerite and Charlotte, were married respectively to Pierre Gole's younger brother, Adrien, and to Jean Marot,Architecte des Bâtiments du Roi, and it is possibly through this connection that Gole received his royal patronage. From 1656, he is described in documents asmaître menuisier en ébène ordinaire du roi, but his first recorded royal commission is for a vast cabinet to hold the king's medals and drawings to stand in his study in the Louvre. This piece, inlaid with marquetry of flowers and mounted in gilt-bronze, was delivered in 1661 and stood three metres high. It cost 6,600 livres. In 1661, he also delivered pieces for the new royal apartments at the Château de Vincennes. One of the pieces he provided was a 'cabinet d'architecture' in marquetry of flowers on an ebony ground. Gole's most famous royal commission was for the'Cabinets de la Guerre et de la Paix', which he made between 1665 and 1668, almost certainly after designs by Lebrun. These cabinets no longer exist. Like many of the pieces that Gole made for the king and for Cardinal Mazarin, they were probably dismantled when they were sold off from the Royal Collection in 1741 and 1751. In 1663 and 1664, Gole delivered a suite of furniture with floral marquetry on an ivory ground for Versailles. It comprisd a large cabinet with its two guéridons and their attendant tables, one with matching guéridons. The legs of the cabinet as well as those of the tables were in the form of columns. Gole had made a speciality of this type of marquetry in ivory in Paris.

South German or Italian, 17th century, Relief of the Ascension of Mary Magdalen. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

gilt bronze; 76cm., 29¾in. Estimate 20,000-30,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Sotheby’s London, 6 April 1995, lot 41

Sotheby's. European Sculpture & Works of Art: Medieval to Modern. London | 02 juil. 2013 www.sothebys.com

A Chinese carved bamboo figure of seated Shoulao, 18th Century, Estimate £4000-6000. Christie's South Kensington, London. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

Asian Art in London 2013. 31 October - 9 November. Christie's South Kensington, 85 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3LD. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7930 6074. Contact: Jeremy Morgan (Chinese Dept) - Anastasia Von Seibold (Japanese Dept) - Mayu Taniguchi (Japanese Dept) - Patricia Frost (Textiles Dept) - Eleonora Mazzeo (Chinese Interiors). E-mail: jmorgan@christies.com - avonseibold@christies.com. Website: http://www.christies.com. Auctions: Asobi: Ingenious Creativity, Tuesday, 15 October: TBC - Ceramics from the Personal Collection of Bernard Leach, Tuesday, 15 October: TBC - Chinese Interiors, Wednesday, 6 November: 10.00 - Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art & Textiles, Friday, 8 November: 10.30 & 14.00

A rare and fine pair of Chinese cloisonné caparisoned elephants, Jiaqing 1796-1820. Woolley & Wallis. Photo courtesy Woolley & Wallis

Asian Art in London 2013. 31 October - 9 November. Woolley & Wallis, 51-61 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 3SU. Telephone: +44 (0)1722 424 506 - +44 (0)1722 424 508. Contact: John Axford. E-mail: johnaxford@woolleyandwallis.co.uk. Website: http://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk . Auctions: Asian Art I, Wednesday, 13 November: 11.00 - Asian Art II, Thursday, 14 November: 11.00

A silver-gilt cup and cover, maker's mark AE conjoined, probably Copenhagen, circa 1574. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

engraved, embossed, chased, cast and fitted with strapwork, monsters, putti, maidens and female masks, on heraldic stem of a bird of prey (the device of the Skovgaard arms) repeated three times above three engraved tortoises and scalework on the foot, and with finial supporting the engraved marriage shields of Skovgaard and Parsberg, later engraved on the underside Marten Nermand Anna Erats Datter 1682, maker’s mark AE only struck twice; 24cm, 9 1/2 in high; 769gr, 24oz 14dwt. Estimate 60,000-90,000 GBP

A German parcel-gilt silver tankard, Hans Polmann, Danzig, circa 1660. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

embossed and chased with cherubs symbolizing Autumn, carrying nature's bounty andincluding signs of Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius, marked on body and cover; 20.5cm, 8in high; 890gr, 28oz 12dwt. Estimate 8,000-12,000 GBP

NOTE: A large silver basin and a pair of flasks are recorded by this master as gifts to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich in 1667 by the Polish King John Casimir and the Castellan of Volyhyrnia, Stanislaw Kazimierz Bieniewski and described as `the most remarkable achievemnts of Gdánsk goldsmithery of the time' see: Andreas F ischinger, Dariusz Nowacki, Goldsmith's work from the former royal and ducal Prussias in the collections of the Wawel royal castle, Cracow, 2000, pp 250/251.

Sotheby's. Arts of Europe. London | 10 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A Continental parcel-gilt silver tankard, marked with initials or Fleur-De-Lis and incuse E, probably Swedish, circa 1671. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

pomegranate thumbpiece and supports, base of handle initialled in mirror monogram and date 2.8. 1671, engraved with flowers and foliage around a Pieter van Abeele medal of 1654; 17.2cm, 6 3/4 in high; 841gr, 27oz. Estimate3,000-5,000 GBP

NOTE: The medal shows on one side Mary Stuart daughter of Charles I, wife of William II of Orange, and on the other their son William III at the age of four. William II had died in 1650 and the Dutch republic had been at war with the English. England's Protector Oliver Cromwell to end the war signed a secret treaty with the province of Holland in 1654 to exclude the house of Orange, supporters of the Stuarts, from the office of Stadtholder. The house of Orange had much support in the States General and the medal was struck to help encourage this support.

The tankard may have been a gift, as was the custom, to a mother on the birth and christening of her child, as the specific date of 2 August 1671 might suggest. The medal of famous mother and child would therefore have been appropriate in this context.

Sotheby's. Arts of Europe. London | 10 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A Charles II silver tankard, Arthur Manwaring, London, 1677. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

the body engraved with a coat-of-arms, hinged cover, scroll handle; 20cm, 7 7/8 in high; 1288gr, 41oz 8dwt. Estimate 3,000-5,000 GBP

Sotheby's. Arts of Europe. London | 10 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

Vessel with portraits of Pope Clement VII (1478-1534) and Alessandro De' Medici, Duke of Florence (1511-1537). Photo courtesy Sotheby's

rock crystal, with possibly French, late 16th/ early 17th century gilt copper mounts; 14.3cm., 5 5/8 in. overall. Estimate 150,000-300,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: with Heinz Jürgen Heuser, Hamburg, 1962

LITTERATURE: H. Burns, M. Collareta and D. Gasparotto, Valerio Belli Vicentino (1468c-1546), Vicenza, 2000, no. 25 (there identified as possibly being a work by Valerio Belli)

NOTE: This superb rock crystal vessel compares with some of the finest hardstone carvings of the first half of the 16thcentury. The presence of portraits of Pope Clement VII and Alessandro de’ Medici, indicate that it was an important commission, celebrating the close relationship between two powerful members of the Medici dynasty: a lost treasure from the Italian High Renaissance.

The Carving

The mannerist ornamentation, which covers the surface of the present vessel, is close to the work of Giovanni Bernardi (1494-1553), the celebrated gem-cutter and rock crystal engraver to the ducal Este and Medici courts, and to Pope Clement VII. Note the similar scrolling vegetal forms terminating in volutes, adorned with dot patterns, and interspersed with exotic birds and mythical creatures, on a series of rock crystal panels in the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, which are attributed to Bernardi (Cassani, op. cit., nos. 6.3-6.68). As with the present vessel, these panels have been carved using theintaglio technique (explained below). The hanging drapes find a conceptual parallel in the garlands of fruit and flowers appearing on another of the panels from Capodimonte (Cassani, op. cit., no. 6.41). The portrait profile medallions of Clement VII and Alessandro de’ Medici should be compared with Bernardi’s rock crystal panels with the Apostles also at Capodimonte (Cassani,op. cit., no. 6.1). Observe the same excellent clarity of the carving. The oval medallions, encircled with dots, are very similar to those appearing prominently on a rock crystal dish by Bernardi in the Museo degli Argenti at the Palazzo Pitti, Florence (inv. no. Bg. 1917 (III) no. 13). The affinities with Bernardi’s oeuvre place the present vessel firmly within his circle, and confirm that it is the work of a master working in the same virtuoso tradition.

The Rock crystal

The body, lid and underside of this vessel were carved from a mineral formed from silicon and oxygen known as quartz.  Here, the mineral appears transparent and colourless, a type referred to as pure quartz or, more commonly, rock crystal.  In the right conditions, pure quartz crystals can grow up to one metre in length and the material forms with a hexagonal cross-section.

For the body of the present lot, the lapidary used hexagonal rock crystal of which the basic shape was possibly retained to emphasise its origin. The lapidary has left the body very thin in order for the material to appear clear and light in weight. Hollowing the raw material out like this was a delicate operation requiring great skill.  It is likely that the cylindrical opening was made into the crystal by boring into it using a hand drill, which needed to be constantly lubricated by a course mixture of water and sand in order to penetrate properly. Following drilling, the shape was ground down further with an abrasive like emery or corundum, creating the sharp angles and level surfaces that characterise the present vessel. The delicate foliate decoration, coats of arms and portraits were then engraved intaglio into the surface with burin-like tools and cutters. During the hollowing out and engraving of the surface, the lapidary had to be particularly careful so as not to crack the fragile crystal. Lastly, the object was polished throughout with wooden or leather tools and a softer abrasive in order to create its glass-like translucency. Much like the hexagonal shape of the body of the vessel, the rock crystal lid was possibly carved with facets to mimic natural quartz formations, which terminate in a similar way.

Rock crystal has been carved since Prehistoric times. Ornaments made from the mineral appear regularly at excavations at Neolithic sites around the world. Quartz also features in most early treatises on geology, such as Jin Ni Zi (China, 4th-century BCE) and Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia (Roman, 1st century CE). The latter’s opinion was that the material was petrified ice, which had become permanently frozen over many centuries. The production of rock crystal vessels flourished in the Western world from the 9th century onwards when it became a staple material used for Christian liturgical objects. Christians associated the purity and clarity of the quartz with the chastity and conscientiousness of their saints and therefore employed the material in objects used during the mass and reliquaries. Roughly around the same time, rock crystal objects became highly prized possessions of the Muslim Fatimid civilisation, which undoubtedly traded the material intensively with Europeans. A contemporary account mentions some 36,000 items of rock crystal and cut glass in the treasuries of Cairo.

As the centuries progressed, rock crystal was worked with increasing cunning and complexity in Europe. During most of this development, the stone-cutter was entirely subservient to the goldsmith. But the rediscovery of the ancient lapidaries and the hunger for ever more opulent gems for the ruling classes cultivated the art form's finest hour. By the second quarter of the 16th century, the lapidaries’ position was reversed and caused schools to flourish first in Milan and Florence, and later in cities such as Prague and Freiburg. The three most impressive collections of rock crystal carvings still intact today -the Florentine Grand-Ducal collection at the Palazzo Pitti, the collection of the Habsburgs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and the Wittelsbach collection in Munich- were all formed by important noblemen at this time. They contain several reappropriated crystals, but chiefly consist of carvings commissioned from the main gem-cutters active in the 16th century: Annibale Fontana, the Sarracchi, the Miseroni, Giovanni Ambrosio, Valerio Belli and Giovanni Bernardi. Their work is characterised by a command over the material that leads to an enormous array of shapes and the fanciful engraving that is also seen on the present vessel.

The Portrait Medallions: The Sitters

The portrait roundels carved into the present vessel are close to known 16th-century medals and hardstone carvings with representations of Pope Clement VII and Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence.  In 1534, Giovanni Bernardi and Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) engaged in a competition to create the archetypal portrait medal of Clement VII. Cellini’s portrait of Clement is, in fact, very close to that appearing on the present vessel; note the similar domed head and beard with ringlets (fig. 1). Images of Alessandro de’ Medici were, perhaps unsurprisingly, less widely circulated than those of the Pope, with some of the finest being carved in precious materials. The present portrait of Alessandro can be compared with a chalcedony and gold pendant in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. CIS 7553-1861), in which Alessandro is also represented with a prominent nose and hair curling tightly to his scalp (see fig. 2). Another relevant comparison is found in the chalcedony portrait of Alessandro by Domenico di Polo (1480-c.1547) in the Museo degli Argenti, Florence (inv. no. GFSSPMF 205069). Cellini also modelled a portrait medal of Alessandro, which has a similar arrangement of clothing to that seen in the present vessel, a silver cast is in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (see Chong, Pegazzano and Zikos, op. cit., p. 152, fig. 77).

Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, Pope Clement VII (1478-1534) is remembered for being the Pope who fled to the safety of the Castel Sant’Angelo during the Sack of Rome of 1527 and for presiding over the divorce proceedings between Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) and Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), which resulted in the English Reformation. Born in Florence, in 1478, he was the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and was a cousin of Pope Leo X (1475-1521). When Leo ascended to the Papacy in 1513, Giulio di Giuliano was swiftly appointed Archbishop of Florence and was made a Cardinal. He established himself as one of the most powerful figures in the Church and, following the death of Adrian VI (1459-1523) in 1523, was elected Pope, styling himself Clement VIII.

Clement held the papacy during a particularly turbulent period in the life of the Church. Only six years prior to his election as Pope, Martin Luther (1483-1546) had nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saint’s Church in Wittenberg, sparking the beginnings of the greatest crisis to engulf the Roman Church in its history, the Reformation. Clement, although highly intelligent, was a weak leader, whose actions caused events to spiral beyond his control. His lack of diplomatic foresight in repeatedly changing allegiances between the opposing powers of the Holy Roman Empire and France led to the Sack of Rome of 1527. This humiliation resulted him being placed under the control of Charles V, the nephew of Catherine of Aragon. When Henry VIII requested that his marriage to Catherine be annulled in 1527, Clement, fearing Charles’ wrath, procrastinated. His patience wearing thin, Henry ordered his marriage to be annulled, and, in late 1532/ early 1533, he married his mistress Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536). Clement responded by excommunicating both Henry and his Archbishop, Thomas Cramner (1489-1556), but it was too late. By 1534, the Act of Supremacy had been passed establishing an independent Church of England with Henry at its head; the English Reformation had begun. 

Whilst Clement was a poor diplomat and politician, he was an important patron of the arts. One of his last acts as Pope was to commission Michelangelo to paint theLast Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. (Photo: Benvenuto Cellini, Medal of Clemet VII, 1534. Florence, Museo Nazionale delBargello)

Alessandro de’ Medici (1511-1537) was the first hereditary Duke of Florence. He was known by contemporaries as Il Moro, The Moor, because of his mixed race heritage – his mother is recorded as having been a sub-Saharan African named Simonetta da Collavecchio, who is thought to have worked in service and was possibly a slave. Officially, Alessandro was the illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de’ Medici (1492-1519), grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492). However, today, it is believed that his real father was the seventeen year old Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, the future Pope Clement VII, whose portrait also appears on the present vessel.

Surprisingly little has been written about Alessandro. Less still has been said about his parentage, probably due to discomfort felt by past historians, who wished to ignore his African heritage and his possible status as the illegitimate son of a Pope. Contemporaries appear not to have been concerned with Alessandro’s race, however. Like many absolute rulers of the period, he had scores of enemies. Rather than chastising him for his skin colour, though, they insulted him for being the son of a peasant. Class was clearly more important in Florentine society than race. This is, perhaps, unsurprising, given that many Africans were brought to Italy to work in aristocratic households, where they were welcomed as exotic additions and prized as symbols of wealth and prestige. The 16th- and 17th-century fascination with Africans is manifested by the numerous busts of Moors carved in expensive materials, such as those by Nicolas Cordier (1567-1612)(see the superb example in the Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden: inv. no. Hm2 187a).

Alessandro de’ Medici was installed as Duke of Florence by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) in 1530, following the defeat and absolution of the Florentine Republic. Charles clearly regarded Alessandro as an important political ally, betrothing his daughter Margaret of Austria (1522-1586) to him in 1527. Alessandro was known as a relatively informal leader, and was praised for his generosity and for his concern for the poor. His life came to a brutal end in 1537, when he was murdered by his cousin Lorenzino de’ Medici (1514-1548), who was referred to as Lorenzaccio, ‘Bad Lorenzo’, for his unfortunate habit of vandalising statues. Lorenzino, who had claimed that he wished to restore the Florentine Republic, was tracked down by Alessandro’s successor Cosimo I de’ Medici and executed in 1548. (Photo: Possibly by Domenico de' Vetri (about 1480-1547), Cameo, with a portrait of Alessandro de' Medici, 1532-7. Plasma (green chalcedony) in gold setting. Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

The Commission

The presence of portraits of Clement VII and Alessandro de’ Medici, together with their respective coats of arms, strongly indicates that the vessel was commissioned either by one of these individuals, or by someone close to them. In the absence of documentary evidence, it is impossible to be exactly sure of the patron’s identity. However, what is clear, is that the person must have been immensely wealthy and at the top of society; such objects were the preserve of princes, dukes and Popes.

There are three likely scenarios for the commission of the present vessel. As has been outlined above, Clement VII and Alessandro de’ Medici were very close, possibly even father and son. Clement had vigorously supported Alessandro’s appointment as Duke of Florence in 1530, a development that he had seen as crucial for retaining Medici dominance in Italian politics. It is therefore possible that the vessel would have been ordered to celebrate this appointment and the security it afforded to the Medici dynasty. Another scenario is that it was commissioned by Alessandro following the death of Clement in 1534, at a time when Alessandro was at the height of his power as Duke of Florence. The vessel may have served as a commemorative piece and as a tribute from Alessandro to his natural father.

One final suggestion should be considered, however. Alessandro’s official sister, Catherine de Medici, Queen of France (1519-1589), amassed an important collection of rock crystal objects, many of which are now in the Palazzo Pitti. The most famous item from her collection is the Bowl of Diana of Poitiers by Gaspare Miseroni, dating to circa 1550 (inv. no. 1921 no. 540). Given that she was also very close to Clement VII – who had been her protector and had presided over her marriage to the future King Henry II of France – it seems very possible that Catherine may have commissioned the present vessel to commemorate the lives of two of her closest relatives.

RELATED LITERATURE: H. Hahnloser and S. Brugger-Koch, Corpus des Hartsteinschliffe des 12.-15. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1985; S. Cassani (ed.), Museo Gallerie Nazionale di Capodimonte. La Collezione Farnese, Naples, 1996, pp. pp. 165-176, nos. 6.1 – 6.68; A. Contadini, 'Rock Crystal: Rock Crystal Pieces in the V&A', Fatimid Art at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London, 1998; D. Alcouffe, Les Gemmes de la Couronne, exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2001, pp. 230-323; A. Chong, D. Pegazzano and D. Zikos, Raphael, Cellini and A Renaissance Banker, exh. cat. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, and Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Boston, 2004, p. 152, figs. 76-77; M. Mosco and O. Casazza, The Museo degli Argenti. Collections and Collectors, Florence/ Milan, 2004, pp. 70-72, fig. 9.

A magnificent late Renaissance antique marble inlaid table top, Roman, last quarter 16th century. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

an inlaid antique marble table top (commesso) of rectangular form, centred by a lavish oval medallion of rare breccia quintilina, in turn surrounded by an oval border of shields in breccia marina and lapis lazuli, peltae in alabastro fiorito, lozenges in alabastro tartarugato, the symmetrical cartouches inlaid with stylised palmettes of giallo antico and rosso antico, the thin outer border with stylised ovals and diapers of mother-of-pearl, coral and cotognino, the central rectangular section with a verde antico ground inlaid with stylised strapwork and scrolls in alabastro listato, each corner with a broccatello di Spagna cartouche with four-petalled corollas, the cartouche ending in a stylised lily or fleur-de-lys of lapis lazuli and rosso antico, each cartouche centred by an oval plaque with an inlaid pietra dura bird on a branch, the exception of one oval plaque bearing a cockerel on a branch, the shorter sides with a stylised peltae in semesanto, the outer border discreetly interspersed with lapis lazuli on a ground of brocatello di Spagna, with elongated cartouches of breccia quintilina with alternating roundels in breccia d’aleppo and lumachella di Tunisi, the border on all sides centred with a rectangle of bianco e nero d’aquitania surrounded by rosso antico, each corner with an oval of alabastro listato burgeoning an acorn of lapis lazuli and set within a fragmented cartouche of bianco e nero d’aquitania, the stylised ornaments and sections on the whole outlined in white marble, theouter binding frame in nero antico; 5.5cm. high, 179cm. wide, 125.5cm. deep; 2¼in., 5ft. 10½in., 4ft. 1½in. Estimate 800,000-1,200,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: • In Florence in 1840.

• Brought to England from Florence by the Rev. Mr Sanford in 1840 with a reputed Medici provenance, according to notes kept in the family archives (at the time of its removal this table top rested on a Florentine Baroque giltwood console table. The stretcher of this console bears a posthumous Medici coat-of-arms, probably placed at the time of arrival of the top in England, a reminder of the reputed Medici provenance).

 • Sold by the Rev. Mr Sanford in 1842 to the ancestors of the present owners, thence by descent.

LITTERATURE

Comparative Literature:

Bertrand Jestaz, Jean Menard et les tables de marbres romaines d’apres un document nouveau, in Melanges de l’ Ecole Francaise de Rome, 124/1, 2012, p.2-23.

Fert Sangiorgi, Documenti Urbinati, Inventari Del Palazzo Ducale (1582–1631), Collana Di studi e Testi 4, Accademia Raffaello, Urbino, Preface, di Pasquale Rotondi, Rome 1976.

Alvar González-Palacios, Las Colecciones Reales Españolas De Mosaicos y Piedras Duras, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2001. 

Anna Maria Giusti, Pietre Dure Hardstone in Furniture and Decorations, London, 1992.

Anna Maria Giusti, a cura di, Eternità e Nobiltà di Materia Itinerario artistico fra le pietre policrome, Edizioni Polistampa, Firenze, 2003.  

Wolfram Koeppe & Anna Maria Giusti, Art of the Royal Court, Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2008. 

Filippo Tuena, I marmi di Commesso nel tardo rinascimento romano, p. 80, in a cura di  Gabriele Borghini, Marmi antichi; Rome, 1997.

NOTE: This magnificent late-Renaissance table top, previously unknown and studied here for the first time, comes from one of England's most prestigious stately homes. It is certainly one of the largest and most beautiful geometrically designed Roman antique marble inlaidcommesso ever conceived.

The exquisite quality and exceptional magnitude of this work of art is enhanced by the clever use of rare antique marbles excavated from Roman Imperial ruins.

Produced at the pinnacle of Roman intarsia craftsmanship and technical virtuosity, at a time when the Renaissance princely dynasties of the 16th century also vied for power through their assertion of artistic patronage, the sheer significance of this rare inlaid table top is magnified by the precious, resilient and timeless material used, thereby symbolically emulating the dynastic gravitas and continuity of its owners.

For its grand scale, the supreme quality of the antique marbles employed and the complexity of the geometric and rigorous design, this table top constitutes a major addition to the group of Roman commessi known of, studied and published to date.

HERALDIC SYMBOLISM AND FOUR INDICATIONS OF A POSSIBLE COMMISSION

The scale, complexity and overall quality of this work of art obviously suggests a prestigious commission. Table tops of this magnitude were commissioned and collected by the enlightened rulers of the time (Gonzaga, Farnese, Medici,  .....), and almost every Italian and European Renaissance court included one or more examples ofcommessi table tops produced either in Rome or Florence.  

Very few of the Renaissance inlaid table tops known and researched so far bear heraldic symbols or coat-of-arms which would obviously help to identify the patron who commissioned them, even in the absence of documentary evidence.

Despite the fact that at present no precise documents have been traced to identify the original commission and location of this commesso, one should pay attention to the four acorns, the fruit of the oak tree inlaid at each corner, which may represent the emblems of the original owner.

No other Roman commessi are known to depict acorns, a fruit rarely represented in art, and the presence of these acorns, cleverly positioned on the four corners of this tabletop, does not seem accidental.

The simple acorn fruit, together with the leaves of the oak tree were the emblems of the very elaborate coat-of-arms of the Della Rovere family, who ruled the Dukedom of Urbino, a refined court whose importance would surely have justified the presence of similar works of art in their collections.   

Both dukes of Urbino, Guidobaldo II della Rovere (1514-1574), who married Vittoria Farnese, and their son Francesco Maria II della Rovere (1549–1631) were avid collectors and very often the works of art commissioned by them were adorned with the emblems of their coat-of- arms ( see for example the table sold in these rooms on  5th July 2010, Lot 6 and fully catalogued and researched by Prof. Alvar Gonzalez Palacios).

In an 1582 inventory of the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino (before the court moved to Pesaro), a most interesting entry is found at number 126 and which, if the Della Rovere provenance is taken into consideration, could well refer to our table. It describes:

"Tavole di noce con marmo: 126 .Una tavola di noce granda intarsiata de diversi marmi et pietre mischie, dentro la quale vi sono Quattro quadri di paragone, con cornige a capre che servano per piedi." (Fert Sangiorgi, Documenti Urbinati, Inventari del Palazzo Ducale, 1582-1631, Urbino, 1976, page 32.) which translates to describe  'a large walnut table inlaid with diverse marbles and  various stones, inside which there are four rectangles in paragone' (a type of black marble). 

One cannot fail to notice that the outer border of the present large table top also boasts four rectangles, but instead inlaid with bianco e nero d’Aquitania marble. Nonetheless, it should be mentioned that all the entries of the abovementioned inventory are very generic and without sizes and that the guardarobieri, that is to say, the members of the courts who carried out the inventories, were not experts themselves and therefore they could easily have mistaken the more rare and prized aquitania marble (black and white) for paragone (black marble), a term generally used. Moreover, paragone is usually used as a background stone and therefore not sufficiently important enough to be inset in four reserves on an important inlaid top.  Interestingly, the person who carried out the inventory does however record the large size of the table, similar to the present one and the fact that both diversi marmi e pietre mischie’ are mentioned seems to stress the variety of materials employed. Furthermore, it should be noted that a technical analysis taken of the thick border (almost 6cm) suggests that our table never had the usual moulded border (so called a becco di civetta) found on other tables, as it was possibly envisaged to be inset in a Renaissance walnut stand.

On the same axis of each acorn, a stylised lily or fleur-de-lys rests. Unlike the acorns, stylised lilies are recorded on some Roman commessi and even on a preparatory drawing (see figs 4 & 7) and so in this case we could perhaps simply be presented with a decorative motif and not of the heraldic symbol of the Farnese family. However, should a possible  Della Rovere provenance be forthcoming, it should be observed that the mother of Francesco Maria II was in fact Vittoria Farnese (1521–1602), niece of Pope Paul III and sister of Cardinal Allesandro Farnese (who commissioned the celebrated Farnese table now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and several others).

It is as if the lily is pointing to the acorn, alluding to a correlation between the two and conceding then that perhaps the intention in design is rather poignant. The use of lapis lazuli, one of the most luxurious stones in the table, seems also not to have been placed by chance, but instead has been possibly positioned to accentuate the heraldic motifs and to stress the importance of the patrons.  Finally, mention should be made of the three cartouches, each centred by an oval depicting a bird on a branch and a curious fourth depicting  a cockerel, the symbol of which connotes vigilance, courage and an emblem of watchfulness and honour in victory.

Denoting their largely ‘arcaic’ design, the birds and cockerel could represent the first timid appearance of naturalistic elements on Roman tops, which are otherwise known for their geometric layout, and in contrast with the more naturalistic inlaid hardstone tops produced in Florence.  At the time, exchanges between Florence and Rome were frequent as the craftsmen moved from one city to the other. One could therefore not exclude the intervention of a Florentine craftsman with regard to the naturalistic elements.

It was only towards the very end of the century and into the early part of the seventeenth century that basic figurative elements like tendrils, flowerheads, military trophies and more elaborate birds fully appear on Roman tops and where they were combined and integrated with the more traditional geometric shapes.

A technical analysis on these ovals does not seem to suggest that they are later 18th or early 19th century replacements.  However, should an antique replacement have taken place, various open ended questions could be asked: did these ovals contain another variety of precious antique marble, with perhaps a more elaborate coat of arms? Was this table top at some stage moved to Florence, which seems to be suggested to in the family archives of the present owner, when acquired in 1842? Should the reputed Medici provenance, together with the suggested Della Rovere link be substantiated, then it is worthwhile recording the movement of some of the art collections from Francesco Maria II Della Rovere to the Medici family, via his grand-daughter Vittoria della Rovere ( 1622-1694) spouse of Grand Duke Ferdinand II de Medici (1610-1670).

THE TASTE  FOR MARBLES FROM ANTIQUITY 

Early sixteenth century Rome was the catalyst of High Renaissance culture, when artists, intellectuals, writers and potentates endeavoured to mirror the works of the ancients with a renewed and passionate interest in the culture of Classical Antiquity. Throughout this century and beyond, the Eternal City promoted archaeological discoveries and excavations amidst the quest for rare and beautiful stones and marbles from southern Italy, Greece, Africa and Asia Minor, which once embellished the majestic private and public buildings and temples of Imperial Rome. This notion consequently attracted enlightened princes and fervent collectors of antique marbles from all over Europe. Marble work and in particularopus sectile, an innovative mosaic technique of placing together irregular sections of coloured stone to create floors and adorn walls, was being discovered during the archaeological excavations of the sixteenth century.

This legacy of marble working lasted throughout the Middle Ages and it was revived and perfected by the Mannerist craftsmen of commesso (from the Latin verb, committere, meaning to join together).

With columns and fragments of every kind of marble and coloured stone found deposited everywhere in the city, Renaissance artisans would collect these, cut them accordingly and use them to decorate the churches, palazzos, monuments and furniture. An example of this is visible on the present table top, which epitomises the zenith of Renaissance Roman craftsmanship and virtuosity.

The present antique marble inlaid table top, a vision of elegance, grandeur and vibrancy, is a tribute to those extraordinary Imperial Roman marbles.

The extremely rare and very large  breccia quintilina in the central oval adds to the value and importance of this piece. Breccia quintilina, sometimes called breccia di Tivoli, was excavated at the site of the Villa Quintiliolo, Tivoli near the villa of Emperor Hadrian in around 1565 and thereafter became most sought after and subsequently almost disappeared. Its rarity implied that it was used either for small sections of inlays or, when used in a larger quantity, it immediately magnified the importance and the ambition of the work of art which contained it, as seen on the present table top.   Another example is a Roman inlaid marble tabletop, early seventeenth century 284cm. wide, 137cm. deep, sold Sotheby’s New York, 5 November 1998, Lot 390, for $2,500,000. 

The design and a few Illustrious comparisons

The present table top belongs to a particular group of important Renaissance Roman commessi, of the second half of the 16th century, all of which are characterised by:

- a large central oval (in this case made of one of the most precious and rare marbles, the breccia quintilina, here used without economy) and bordered not by one, but by three bands, richly inlaid with various stylised classical motifs;

- the presence of an elaborate cartouche (strapwork) here in alabastro listato, which contains the abovementioned oval which is in turn contained by:

- a broad outer  border inlaid with pure geometric and abstract motifs which exalt the beauty of the campionario of stones displayed;

- an almost absence of naturalistic or figurative motifs (flowersheads, tendrils, trophies) which start to appear on later Roman tops.

 A group of designs for works of this genre exists and could be attributed to the architect and sculptor, Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1533–1611). This further serves to strengthen the association between the decorative and the architectural in intarsia. Giovanni Antonio Dosio worked primarily in Rome and Florence. (Alvar Gonazález-Palacios, op. cit., p. 51.)

As seen in a design by the artist, (fig. 3) shows the distinctive design outline with the central oval and strapwork, the outer border with abstract geometric ornament set out in a symmetrical fashion, all similar to the design of the present table top. Of interest is an ornament of stylised strapwork outlined in white marble dating back to the 5th century AD on a pillar of Santa Sabina in Rome, once again showing how the Renaissance architects and craftsmen drew inspiration from the earlier designs.

(fig. 2). Another detailed drawing by Dosio (fig. 4), illustrates an abstract cartouche ending in a stylised lily, very similar to the one present on each corner of our table under the ovals containing the birds. (A Giusti, Eternità e Nobiltà di Materia, op.cit., p.66.)

Although the comparison may sound ambitious, the quality of the stones employed on the present tabletop (verde antico, broccatello, aquitania),  echoes the beauty and depth of those on the most celebrated Farnese table top, circa 1568 and commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, whose emblem (the Farnese lily) is disseminated throughout the table, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, (fig. 7).  It is interesting to compare the stylized strapwork around the ovals of aquitania on the Farnese table top with the bolder example around the central oval on the present table.

The overall composition of our table top (oval, within a  border, contained in stylised abstract strapwork, framed but with a rectangle by a geometrically inlaid border) is in fact very similar to the celebrated Roman antique marble inlaid table top, late sixteenth century, formerly in the collection of Cardinal Richelieu and now in the Musée du Louvre, (200x133cm) Paris (fig. 5). The Louvre example seems to be slightly later in date due to the presence of those abovementioned tendrils which are completely absent in our table top. Apart from the central composition one should notice the strong similarities between the four beautiful stylised rosso and giallo antico palmettes, symmetrically positioned at the principal points of our oval with those scattered around the central crenelated oval of alabastro marino in the Louvre example. The discreet, yet expressive use of lapis lazuli in both these tables allows for further similarities.

The Louvre table, together with another late 16th century table top (150 x 98cm) in the collection of the same museum (fig. 6), a simpler commesso in the Palazzo Farnese (Rome) and a previously undocumented inlaid table (168 x 106cm) kept in the Casa de Pilatos, Seville, are discussed in an article by Bertrand Jestaz, op. cit.plates 3,4,9,10, which has been kindly brought to our attention by Prof. Alvar González-Palacios.

Together with our table, these three tops and the table top of Seville made for the Duke d’Alcala (c.1570) (which shows empty compartments carved into the white marble which were destined to contain the marbles now lost), all share the same aforementioned composition.  The Seville table is documented as having been made by Giovanni Menardo (Jean Menard, c.1525-1582), called Il Franciosino, a marble cutter active in Rome and famous for his inlaid marble tables, the same person who certainly made and possibly designed the celebrated Farnese table in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Furthermore, the Seville discovery and the table tops in the Louvre, all attributed to Jean Menard, certainly have strong design similarities to the table top here presented.  The workshop of Giovanni was then continued by his brother, son and son-in-law, and one may assume that they continued to use some of the design models invented years before.

An Italian pietra dura and hardstone inlaid table top, Florence, from the Grand Ducal workshops, circa 1620-1630. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

of rectangular form centred by a panel inlaid with a bird on a fruiting branch enclosed by roundels and geometric motifs flanked on either side by a landscape scene, one with Orpheus playing a violin seated amongst animals, the other with a figure playing a flute, each corner inlaid with a baluster vase of amethyst, the whole inlaid with roundels and geometric motifs in Scilian jasper, lapis lazuli and agates, on a black marble ground; 142cm x 96cm; 4ft. 8in., 3ft. 1¾in. Estimate 150,000-300,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Private American Collection
Private English Collection

Comparative Literature: A. Giusti, in A. Giusti, P. Mazzoni, A. Pampaloni Martelli, Il Museo dell’ Opificio delle pietre dure a Firenze, Milan 1978, cat. nos. 68/70, pp. 288-9, plates 70-72).
A. Giusti in L’ombra del genio. Michelangelo e l’arte a Firenze 1537-1631, catalogue of the exhibition curated by M. Chiarini and A. Darr, Florence-Detroit 2002, cat. no 127, pp.265-6.
E. Koch, Pietre Dure and other artistic contacts between the court of the Mugals and that of the Medici, in A Mirror of Princes, ed. D. Jones, Bombay 1987, p.46 fig.23.
A. Giusti, in U. Baldini, A. Giusti, A. Pampaloni Martelli, La Cappella dei Principi e le pietre dure a Firenze, Milan 1979, cat. no.110, pp.295-6, plate.168.

Text by: Dr. Annamaria Giusti
Translated by: Emma Bassett

This table top is made from a slab of white marble used as a base and cut in such a way as to leave a raised design of white outlines which enclose inlaid geometric ornament to form an outer border, the articulated centered cartouche and the frame around the central pattern of ovals. The four stylised vases at the corners, the two scenes on the shorter sides of the table and the little bird on a flowering branch at the centre are made a commesso – a technique using precisely cut and close fitted hard stones. The geometric partition in white marble and the use of jasper is reminiscent of the iconic Florentine pietre dure intarsia table top,also inlaid with a variety of jaspers, circa 1570-85 in the Palazzo Pitti, Museo degli Argenti, reproduced here in fig.1.

The vivid polychromatic effect of both the inlays and the commessi results from the use of a variety of stones - most of which are semi-precious. There are different types of jasper and agate in the geometric ornament as well as the lovely speckled blue of Persian lapis lazuli which is also used  for the vibrant skies of both the scenes. In the corners a single piece of amethyst has been used for the body of each vase while the handles are of broccatello di Spagna and coral. Coral is also used amongst the ornament making up the intricate central cartouche.  The neck of each vase is stoppered by an oblong of German agate with attractive concentric rings.

Vases are amongst the most popular motifs chosen by the Florentine mosaicists of the early period and they appear in a variety of shapes on panels, table tops, wall coverings, altars and other furnishings. Almost all of them are shown with detailing that recalls the goldsmiths’ mounts which were such a feature of the precious vases – the pride of the Medici collections of Cosimo I and his sons Francesco and Ferdinando. On this table top the vases are shown with handles, which in their shape and use of coral, broccatello and chalcedony call to mind those gold and enamels mounts which can still be seen today on vases produced in the Medici workshops.

Representations of vases first appear on Florentine pietre dure table tops in the late sixteenth century, in a simple stylised form like those featured in an otherwise purely geometric design on a table top at Aston Hall, Birmingham. From the early years of the seventeenth century the shape of the vases gradually became more elaborate, although in most cases the body of the vase cut from a single piece of stone still retained a geometric appearance. Though monumental in scale, the jasper vases featured on the walls of the Cappella dei Principi are examples of this type, while vases containing flowers and with a shield-shaped profile quite similar to that seen here, appear on a pair of small panels made in the early seventeenth century for the altar of the same chapel. (A. Pampaloni Martelli, in A. Giusti, P. Mazzoni, A. Pampaloni Martelli, Il Museo dell Opificio delle Pietre Dure a Firenze, Milan, 1978, cat. no. 65 a. B, p.287, plate 69). In the  panels and on this  table top the same stone, a single piece of amethyst, is used for the body of the vase and is typical of the ‘palette’ of stones in use in the time of Ferdinand I and his successor. Its transparency was often exploited by laying a sheet of dark red metal underneath it, which enhanced the natural violet coloured markings in the stone.

The beautifully executed scenes of commesso work give this table top its distinctively Florentine character, aligning it perfectly with other work produced by the Galleria dei Lavori in the early decades of the seventeenth century, both in subject matter and composition as well as in the range of stones employed. Semi-precious hard stones are used together with softer stones in order to take full advantage of  the chromatic possibilities. In particular the scene showing Orpheus charming the animals includes the clever use of ‘pietra d’Arno’ a limestone typical of the upper Valdarno. The varied markings of this stone are exploited to suggest the contours of two boulders that frame Orpheus like pieces of stage scenery, as well as the sheared-off cliff wall which provides a backdrop, whilst the slender trees just coming into leaf beside the rustic building on the right are in fact represented by the dendritic markings within the pietra d’Arno itself.

In the other landscape scene a tiny figure playing a flute appears in the distance and the furrowed fields in the foreground are made up of the undulating striations of Sicilian jasper. The same stone is found in the panels made in 1607-08 for the altar of the Cappella dei Principi (see A. Giusti, in A. Giusti, P. Mazzoni, A. Pampaloni Martelli, Il Museo dell’ Opificio delle pietre dure a Firenze, Milan 1978, cat. nos. 68/70, pp. 288-9, plates 70-72). These panels were the earliest to show landscape scenes-a theme which became very popular.

It was not long before landscapes made their appearance on table tops, including the much celebrated table, now lost, which was sent  from the Medici workshops to the Emperor Rudolph II in 1597. As a result of the success of the Imperial table, Florentine mosaics (pietre dure work) began to be produced in Prague where craftsmen specialised in landscape subjects. The table with landscapes made in Prague at the Museo degli Argenti in Florence is a wonderful example of their work and shows landscapes and architectural capricci within a geometric layout. Contact and exchanges with the Prague workshops which lasted throughout the first quarter of the century probably influenced the fashion for  ‘paesini’–little landscape scenes–in Florence and their use in table top compositions seems particularly concentrated in this period. The table featured here is a rare example and at least two relevant documents have emerged from the partial examination of the Medici papers undertaken so far.

In 1611 a table top was being made in the Galleria dei Lavori for Christina of Lorraine ‘dove vanno certi paesini di commesso inventati da Antonio Francesco Burchielli detto il Rosso’ – ‘in which there will be little scenes in commessodesigned by Antonio Francesco Burchiello, known as il Rosso’. The work was entrusted to three craftsmen (ASF. G.M. 306, c.136). Burchielli does not seem to have been a professional artist, like Poccetti who drew the Tuscan landscapes for the altar of the Chapel, but rather a specialist in commesso work. It is with this description that he is recorded working in the first decade of the seventeenth century on the coats of arms for the cities of the Grand Duchy in the Cappella dei Principi. Another document from 1613 (ASF, Guardaroba medicea 337, cc. 113 and 179) records that Giovan Battista Sassi, grandson of the Milanese Gaffurri family, who was amongst the most gifted craftsmen of the grand-ducal workshops was working on a table with ‘paesini’ and ‘corone nelle cantonate’ – crowns in the corners. 

We can only speculate that the landscapes on the two lost tables were not too dissimilar to the scenes shown on this table top, which have quite close links with the prototypes mentioned above for the Cappella dei Principi, both for their exploitation of the character of the stone as well as in the freshness and delightfully naive compositional and design elements. The luminous views of Tuscan hills, with rustic dwellings nestling amongst cypress trees are very close to the landscapes drawn by Bernardino Poccetti at the beginning of the century for the commessi intended for the altar of the Chapel, even if, in the background of the Orpheus scene, the anonymous artist has managed to insert an octagonal temple in ruins and a bridge lined with statues, to evoke mythical antiquity. A comparative pietre dure intarsia panel depicting a Tuscan landscape and showing the façade of San Lorenzo, designed by Bernardino Poccetti, is in the Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre dure, Florence and reproduced here in fig. 2.

In spite of the classical origin of the Orpheus story the subject is treated here as a charming pastoral scene, based on a pictorial model used many times by the Galleria dei Lavori. In the famous cabinet made for Maffeo Barberini around 1620 and now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the figure of Orpheus soothing the animals with his music is shown on the central door (see also W. Koeppe and A. Giusti, New York 1988, cat. no. 41, pp.265-266). Exactly the same representation in the same position apppears on the cabinet in the Detroit Museum of Art (see A. Giusti in L’ombra del genio. Michelangelo e l’arte a Firenze 1537-1631, catalogue of the exhibition curated by M. Chiarini and A. Darr, Florence-Detroit 2002, cat. no 127, pp.265-6), and on a third cabinet at Chirk Castle in Wales. To these examples we can now add the scene from this table top, where the only difference, in the depiction of Orpheus surrounded by the animals and framed by two trees, is the absence of a laurel wreath, which in the three cabinets crowns the head of the mythical musician. In fact, even the chalcedony with its delicate shades of orange, which in the table top is used for Orpheus’ robe, is the same type as that used in the New York cabinet.

A fourth version of Orpheus playing music, based on a different and more developed pictorial model, can be seen in the Throne Room of the Red Fort in New Delhi where together with other Florentine commessi of naturalistic subjects, it was set into the marble wall covering between 1639 and 1648 (see E. Koch, Pietre Dure and other artistic contacts between the court of the Mugals and that of the Medici, in A Mirror of Princes, ed. D. Jones, Bombay 1987, p.46 fig.23). 

The popularity of Orpheus as a subject in Florentine pietre dure objects made in the Galleria dei Lavori in the first half of the seventeenth century, was probably due to its use as an allegory of the ‘Pax Medicea’ and the good government of the Prince. It is significant that, at the beginning of his reign, Cosimo I commissioned a portrait of himself as Orpheus the Musician. This wonderful painting by Bronzino is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The legend of Orpheus not only offered a classical model that could be harnessed to the celebration of dynasty but also the opportunity to set the story in a landscape.  This opportunity is fully exploited in the scene on the table top (in contrast to the cabinet doors where only the principal subject is shown) and is in keeping with the increasing popularity of landscape in commesso work  made in the grand-ducal workshops from the first decade of the seventeenth century onwards.

An Italian scagliola table top attributed to Pietro Antonio Paolini, Tuscan, circa 1735. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

of rectangular form centred by a cartouche depicting a vignette of an Italian town within a border with a cartouche on either side with a battle scene en grisaille after Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630), flanked by seated female sphinxes with baskets of flowers on their heads on tasselled drapery amongst strapwork, scrolling foliage, flowers and butterflies, each end with a scrolled cartouche with fruit-filled cornucopia flanking a mask issuing from a sunburst motif above a bird, each angle with a roundel with amber fragments surmounted by a stylised scallopshell suspending leafy swags issuing from scrolled corbels, on a black slate ground, on a modern neo-classical ivory painted carved wooden base; the frieze carved with guilloche enclosing flowerheads, on stop-fluted tapering legs joined by a shaped stretcher carved with guilloche on toupie feet (not illustrated); top 144 cm. by 71cm; base 76cm. high, 148cm. wide, 74cm. deep; 4ft. 8¾in., 2ft. 4in; 2ft.6in., 4ft. 10¼in., 2ft. 5¼in. Estimate 100,000-150,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: José María Padierna de Villapadierna y Avecilla, 3rd Conde de Villapadierna (1909–1979);
Private collection of a Spanish Marquis

Comparative Literature: Jonathan Cook, Confections of Colour, Antique Dealers and Collectors Guide, June 1998, pp. 36-45.
G. Manni, I Maestri della scagliola in Emilia Romagna e Marche, Rome, 1997.
Anna Maria Massinelli, Scagliola L’Arte della Pietra di Luna, Modena, 1997, pp. 22-25.

This magnificent scagliola table top, although unsigned, can certainly be attributed to Pietro Antonio Paolini the Tuscan scagliolist. This is due to a number of features that it shares with other works either signed and dated by him or attributed to him, of which there are few recorded. This rare top is inset with amber fragments a feature only found on Paolini’s work and he also employed the technique of reproducing engravings and prints in black and white depicting mythological and other scenes together with paintings by various artists such as those in the cartouches.

It is worthwhile considering an almost identical top sold by Sotheby’s, Noseley Hall, Leicestershire, 28th and 29th September 1998, which was on a George II base (£210,000), reproduced here in fig. 1.The top had been commissioned by Sir Arthur Hesilrige, 7th Bt. (1708-1763) who went on a Grand Tour in 1723-24, visiting Florence, Rome, Parma and Venice in the company of Captain Pain. It stated in the catalogue that it belonged to an interesting group of early 18th century Tuscan scagliole depicting coastal scenes and harbour views which were much praised during the 18th century especially ones attributed to Don Enrico Hugford (1695-1771) of Vallombrosa, near Florence. There was no documentary evidence for attributing that top, although it had the monogrammed initials H.P corresponding perhaps to `Hugford Presbiter’ the Latin word for Priest. The fact that the central vignette on the offered table top and the Noseley Hall one are almost identical would suggest that they were never conceived as a pair. The offered table top is inset the amber fragments at the angles whereas the Noseley Hall table top has painted cartouches and the former top is decorated with more luxuriant foliage and flowers and is in different colour combinations.

The rarity of this stunning scagliola top attributed to Paolini is emphasised by the fact that there are known to date only four other signed scagliola tops by him:

-A table top dedicated to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, now in the Museo del Argenti, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, signed `Petrus Antonio Paolini fecit liburni Anno MDCCXXXII’ (1732), dedicated to `A sua Altezza Reale il Gran Duca di Toscana’, illustrated by J. Cook, op. cit., p. 36, fig. 1. It is decorated with a trompe l’oeil with a plan of a military strategist of a Barcelona fortress, a violin and a bow, a bird on a fruiting branch and a butterfly, an Old Master drawing and roses, (Inv. Mobili Artistici n. 1499). See the catalogue of the exhibition at Palazzo Pitti in 1974 `Gli ultimi Medici: il tardo barocco a Firenze, 1670-1743’.

-A table top inscribed `Petrus Antonius de Paulinus fecit Lourni 1737’ sold Phillips, London, lot 206, 23rd April 1996. reproduced here in fig. 2. Jonathan Cook  op. cit., p. 37, discovered this top which is decorated with flowers, fruit and masks with swags and reserves of marble fragments. The central oval is delineated by `marbled lines’ and features `David standing over the body of Goliath’ by Titian. This was taken from a series of ceiling paintings of Old Testament subjects in the sacristy of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice and painted by Titian between 1543 and 1544.

-A table top inscribed `Petrus Antonius Paulini fecit ‘ but undated, sold in these Rooms, 25thMay 2001, lot 37 (£130,000). It had formerly been in the collection of John Gilbert Winant (1889-1947), United States Ambassador to Great Britain 1941-1946. It had similar amber fragments contained within a roundel flanked by berried laurel to that on this table top and the treatment of some of the fruits, sprigs of berried laurel and nasturtium heads and identical blooms such as morning glory is so similar that both table tops must be by the same hand. The central subject matter on the Winant table top is a copy of the Teniers painting in the Prado Museum, Madrid.

-The scagliola tops signed `Petrus Antonius de Paulinus fecit', on a pair of George I gilt-gesso pier tables, known as the 'Treby tables', with amber fragments of smaller dimensions in the reserves, cartouches depicting harbour scenes and figures, and with a central engraved decoration, one of which depicting 'David and Goliath' and sold Christies London, 28th November 2002, lot 50.

Other comparable scagliola tops attributed to Paolini include:

-A related top attributed to Paolini, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, (inv. W 6-1933) reproduced here in fig. 3, on a contemporary giltwood base. It was made in Leghorn in 1726 for Ditchley Park, seat of the 2nd Lord Litchfield. Although not signed, it has similar scrollwork, fruit, flowers and birds and cartouches inlaid with amber and aventurine and painted vignettes conceived in similar vein to those on this top. It is centred by the arms of the 2nd Earl of Litchfield, George Henry Lee, and two oval vignettes decorate the sides, one with a view of Roman ruins, the other a harbour scene depicting the ship with a red flag flying of the brother of Lord Litchfield, Admiral Fitzroy Lee, who wrote to his brother from Leghorn, `I have seen this morning your table which is entirely finished only the arms and supporters which I wrote to you of ten months ago and you have not seen them yet, which is a great pity for I am sure that it will be the finest sort in Europe’.  

-a top very similar to the first signed example, mentioned above, although unsigned, sold in these Rooms, 22nd May 1987, lot 59 (unattributed at that time), but almost certainly by Paolini. It is of serpentine outline and decorated with musical instruments, sheet music, a patch box decorated with harlequin, roses and butterflies.

- a table top attributed to Paolini, illustrated by Massinelli, op. cit., p. 22, fig. 9, of oval form centred by a bird atop a basket of fruit within a border of figures, masks and scrolling foliage, on black ground, now in a Private Collection.

-a table top on a commode, previously at Chesham Park, Henfield, Sussex, sold by Christie’s, on the premises at Chesham Park on 18th-19th April 1977, lot 182, the present whereabouts of which are unknown. In the opinion of Cook, op. cit., it may well be attributable to Paolini. The top with its serpentine outline with rounded corners is the same shape as the one sold in these Rooms in 1987-(see ante), although of slightly differing dimensions and it is possible that they were conceived as a pair.

-a table top attributed to Paolini on a base decorated with scagliola imitating pietre dure, illustrated by Massinelli, op. cit., p. 24, figs, 11-11c, now in the Canelli Collection, Milan.

-a top with a composition similar to the one owned by the Grand Duke of Tuscany (see ante), depicting a map of Lille, a violin, bow and other items, was in the George Malcolm Collection at Duntrune Castle, Argyll, Scotland (see A. Coleridge, `Don Petro’s Table-tops; Scagliola and grand Tour clients’, Apollo, 1996, pp. 184-187.)

Pietro Antonio Paolini:
Pietro Antonio Paolini was born in Lucca and active in the first half of the 18thcentury but there is scant information on his life. Nothing is known about his apprenticeship which was probably in one of the monasteries on the outskirts of Florence. His presence is also recorded in Livorno. Furthermore, the exceptional quality of the Uffizi top suggests that he had direct contact with the Grand Duke’s Court.

The representation in scagliola of geographical maps, sheets of music and trompe l’oeil effects were common in Tuscany in the early decades of the 18th century. Tuscan scagliolarists employed the use of botanical and musical motifs in the table tops which were commissioned by their wealthy patrons. Pietro Antonio Paolini was one of the foremost exponents of this art of trompe l’oeil scagliola, one of the famous commissions of his being the top executed for the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1732-(see ante).

Characteristic of Paolini’s work is his mixture of techniques of scagliola with pietre dure and mother-of-pearl and amber fragments as on the present top. His work represents the pinnacle of Tuscan scagliola in terms of technique and the process of the pictorial school. His inspiration is most likely to have come from the 17th and 18th century publications of coloured engravings after artists such as Jacob Van Huysum (1687-1740), Peter Casteels (1684-1749) and Johann Jakob Walther (1604-1671). On the offered top, the depiction of engravings are after Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630), one of which is reproduced here in fig. 4. He was an Italian painter, draughtsman and printmaker whose work was very popular in Northern Europe and he was born and trained in Florence as a pupil of Santi di Tito (1536-1603) and Joannes Stradanus (1523-1605) before working with Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) on the Palazzo Vecchio.  He is perhaps best known for his battle and mythological scenes.  

The scagliola technique:
This technique has been used since Roman times initially to imitate marble and later pietre dure. It is composed of pulverised selenite from the Appennini Mountains in Emilia and Tuscany, called lapis specularis or pietre di luna, which is then ground down and mixed with lime. This mixture is then placed on to a stone support and inlaid with a composition of coloured scagliola and graphite. The use of botanical and musical motifs by the Tuscan scagliolist appealed to the English Grand Tourist of the 18th century, who collected Italian artefacts with a passion on these Grand Tours.

The Counts of  Villapadierna:
They came from an old lineage of the Order of Santiago and Calatrava Knights, from the Spanish region of León and the House of Quirós. They had been lords since the reconquest of the Villapadiernas’castle, lieutenants of the fleet of the Admiral of Castilla and Governors of Tierra de Campos. The family had made careers in the army, the Church, politics, the world of sport, as well as being patrons of writers and artists.

The Villapadierna Palace, situated at no. 10 Goya Street was demolished in 1868, during the nineteenth-century expansion of Madrid. In Villanueva del Campo, there is the House of Padierna; in the centre of León, the House of Villapadierna; in Herrera del Duque the countryside mansion in Cíjara; in the village of Villapadierna its castle; and on the outskirts of Oviedo, in Olloniego, the castle of Quirós.

One of the  most distinguished members of this family was José María Padierna of Villapadierna and Avecilla (1909-1979) who would inherit, amongst other properties, the palaces of Villapadierna and Linares, two of the most emblematic architectural properties of 19thcentury Madrid. Moreover, he inherited a vast fortune and became a charismatic and outstanding personality of the 1920’s, dedicated to car and horse racing, so much so that he managed to spend three inheritances indulging in these past times. Fascinated in the 1920’s by the new sport of car racing, he raced for Ferrari and built up the motor-racing team of Villapadierna, with which he competed in the Spanish Grand Prix and on the Monaco racing circuit. He was also a keen horseman and created the Villapadierna stable which made history on Spanish turf. He was also fond of bullfighting and a close friend of Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez (1917-1947), better known as Manolete, a Spanish bullfighter as well as Antonio Bienvenida who was one of the most famous bullfighters during the 1960-70's. He introduced celebrities such as Gary Cooper, Orson Welles, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Porfirio Rubirosa to the bullfighting scene and he enjoyed almost mythical status in Spanish society of the mid 20th century.

A filigree silver–and silver-gilt-mounted pewter inlaid tortoiseshell première-and contre-partie Boulle marquetry and ebony veneered dressing table mirror, probably Southern German, second quarter 18th century. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

of cartouche form with a stylised acanthus leaf cresting, the finely worked border with tearshaped bands of flowers and leaves, the apron with a stylised scallopshell flanked by cscroll sprays, the reverse with a cresting centred by a stylised anthemion flanked by squirrels blowing horns seated on the back of a barking dog, the sides decorated with berainesque motifs and squirrels eating fruit, on the right side two figures one in the form of a minotaur dancing on a plinth, the left side with a seated figure drinking, the other with his hands submerged in a barrel of water amongst scrolling foliage and flowers, the strut centred by a female mask surmounted by a fruit-filled cornucopia applied at the base with a filigree flower, the recessed back panel with a c-scroll cartouche enclosing a female mask suspending drapery flanked by fruit-filled cornucopuia above a musician in a feathered hatplaying the violin flanked by flaming baluster urns, the whole decorated with scrolling foliage; some minor losses to filigree ; 66cm. high, 52cm. wide; 2ft. 2in., 1ft. 8½in. Estimate 50,000-100,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Formerly in an English Collection.

Comparative Literature: Mogens Bencard, Silver Furniture, Rosenborg, 1992,Copenhagen,1992, p. 55-57, nos 8-11.
Graham Child, World Mirrors, London, 1990, p.180, no. 319, 320 and 320a. 
Renate Eikelmann (Hrsg.), Prunkmoebel am Munchner Hof, Bayrisches Nationalmuseum, München, 2011, p.81/82.
Jürgen Ermert, Frühe Uhren mit “Deutschen” Boulle-Gehäusen.Tischuhr mit Carillon von Markwick, London, Teile 1-3, Klassik Uhren 04/2010, 05/2010, 06/2010. 
Henriette Graf and Michael Huey, South German Writing Furniture in the Boulle Technique: Johann Puchwiser (c. 1680-1744) and His Workshop in Munich, The University of Chicago Press, Studies in the Decorative Arts, Vol. I, No. I (Fall 1993), pp. 49-75.
Danille O. Kisluk-Grosheide, Wolfram Koeppe, William Rieder, European Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Highlights of the Collection, New York, 2006, no. 29, pp. 81-83.
Jorgen Hein, The Treasure Collection at Rosenborg castle, I,The Inventories of 1696 and 1718, Royal Heritage and Collecting in Denmark-Norway 1500-1900, Copenhagen, 2009, pp. 52, fig. 12.
Peter Hughes, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, Vol. II, London,1996, no 150 (F50), pp 711-715.  
Paul Hartmann, Miroirs Galeries et cabinets de glaces,Paris, plate 69. 
Lund Humphries, Silver Wonders from the East, Filigree of the Tsars, Exhibition Catalogue,2006, St. Petersburg, p. 60, cat. no. 50 and pp. 83-93.  
Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541-1868, Germanisches National Museum, Band I, Teil 2, Nürnberg, 2007, p. 984, no. 740 and p. 740, no. 109.
Jean Nérée Ronfort, André-Charles Boulle 1642-1732, Un nouveau style pour l’Europe, Paris, 2009, p. 361, plate e.
Peter Scherer (Hrsg.) Das Gmündner Schmuckhandwerk bis zum Beginn des XIX Jahrhunderts, Schäbisch Gmünd,p.1071.Lorenz Seelig, Silver and Gold, Courtly Splendour from Augsburg, Munich, 1995, figs. 42, 48, 50 and 51. 
Christopher Wilk, ed.,Western Furniture 1350 to the Present Day in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London,1996, pp. 82-83.

This exquisitely decorated dressing table mirror with a strut at the back is exceptionally rare as it seems to be unprecedented to find the combination of première-and contre-partie boulle marquetry with the most delicately worked silver filigree decoration on the front. At first sight one would perhaps consider it to be French in origin as the decoration is very much in the manner of the celebrated ornamentalist and designer Jean Berain. However, the mirror bears many hallmarks certainly in respect of the boulle marquetry which would lead to a possible German attribution more specifically to Johann Puchwiser (1680-1744) .  

The silver filigree decoration:
Silver furniture was an important component in sumptuous French interiors. Nevertheless, Augsburg in Germany was also an important centre for precious metals and many silver pieces known today originated there. Unlike the furniture made for Louis XIV, which generally was in solid silver, objects made in Augsburg were in the main made from thin silver plates over a wooden carcass. The silversmiths of Augsburg were also known to have supplied silver and silver gilt mounts for the embellishment of luxury objects veneered in ebony, ivory and tortoiseshell as on the offered mirror.

There was a specific group of cabinet-makers in Germany known as Silberschreineror Silberkistler, who were engaged in the speciality of veneering furniture with exotic materials such as ivory, tortoiseshell and sometimes semi-precious stones. This furniture was costly to produce and generally made to order via the intercession of an agent or Silbhändler who was the middleman between the artist and patron. According to Kisluk-Grosheide et al, op. cit, `The agents submitted designs for approval to the client, selected the silversmith to whom they supplied the necessary silver and chose the Silberschriener, who mounted the different elements together on a wooden core.‘ Filigree work by the Augsburg based goldsmiths such as Johann Jacob Adam (1720-1790), are particularly close to the offered example, see the intricate flowers on a filigree cup sold by Sotheby’s in Paris, Important Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boites en Or et Objets de Vitrine, Paris, 18th April 2012, Lot 110 which are very similar to those on the offered piece.

It is worth noting, however, that silver filigree work was produced all over the world not only in Europe but also South America, Goa and Karim Nagar in India and Batavia, Indonesia from the 16th through to the 18th Century. This makes it extremely difficult to date and state a definitive origin for these pieces. There is a prayerbook cover with very similar filigree work illustrated in Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541-1868, the silverwork by Michael Lauffer, circa 1705/1706, p. 984, no. 740 and a casket by Johann Lorenz Wernberger, 1753/1763, p. 740, no. 109. For other example of German dressing table sets, see Seelig, illustrates op. cit., figs. 42, 48, 50 and 51.Two silver filigree toilet sets, of Oriental workmanship, which belonged to Catherine the Great, have survived in the Hermitage Collection, the mirror of one is of a similar shape to the offered one and illustrated by Humphries, op. cit., p. 60, cat. no. 50, reproduced here in fig.3.

Boulle marquetry and its manufacture in the German States and Johann Puchwiser (1680-1744):
Boulle marquetry was traditionally seen as originating from and solely the monopoly of France. However, the technique was used in other centres in the Low Countries and the German States and Augsburg was one of the pre-eminent centres together with Munich and Vienna. The Boulle metal marquetry technique is mostly associated with the celebrated Parisian cabinet-maker André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732), although this method of decorating furniture and works of art was not invented by him, he was one of the most famous exponents in his day which led to his name being synonymous with this type of marquetry. See Ronfort,op. cit., p. 361, plate e, from Boulle’s `Nouveaux Deisseins', circa 1725-1730, for a dressing table mirror which must have inspired the maker of the offered mirror.Boulle’s design also influenced the maker of a related mirror with a similarly inlaid reverse and strut to that on the offered mirror, which is attributed to André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) catalogued as French, circa 1713, in the Wallace Collection, London, no. 150 (F50), illustrated by Hughes, op. cit., pp. 714 and 715, reproduced here in fig. 1. The design of the première–partie marquetry on the back is in the manner of engravings by Jean Bérain (1640-1711), who in 1674 was appointed Dessinateur de la Chamber et du Cabinet du Roi. 

However, cabinet-makers in German speaking regions were inspired by the circulation of prints from abroad. In the 17th and 18th centuries Augsburg became a centre for engraving and engravings after Jean Berain (see post) were done `à la goût moderne' by Paul Decker (1677-1713), Jonas Drentwett and Johann Jakob Biller (d. 1723).  The mirror's shape takes inspiration from engravings for frames by Hieronymous Bolmann and Jacques Bellay and Juste Aurèle Meissonnier published by Gabrile Huquier.  Jean Berain (1638/9-1711), was one of the most influential French architects and designers whose decorative style was disseminated across Europe, and other Augsburg publishers sold copies of Berain’s designs during the late 17th and early 18th century. In addition, according to Kisluk-Grosheide et al, op. cit, `..many German silversmiths had spent several years of training abroad, often in Paris, and foreign journeymen came to work in Augsburg, stimulating the exchange of ideas and adoption of new styles’.

Dressing table mirrors were designed to rest upon a table supported by a strut at the back. They were extremely highly regarded according to Graham Child, op. cit,p. 181, and may well have been transported in cases made specially for them. It has been suggested that the adjustable Toilet-Glass was a French invention since they first appear in early 17th century French domestic interiors-see for example an engraving by Abraham Bosse in La Vue. Child illustrates, op. cit., in plates 319, 320 and 320a, two dressing table mirrors inlaid on the reverse which he states ar  typical of Bérain’s work. Also see lot 998, sold from the Collection of the Duke of Hamilton, Christie’s London, 17th-19th June 1882, where a similar brass inlaid and tortoiseshell toilet-mirror to the offered example is illustrated, the reverse of which is similarly inlaid to the offered one with fruit-filled tapering baskets, seated squirrels, eating fruit, butterflies, rinceaux and a female mask in a stylised feathered headdress catalogued as `A TOILET GLASS, in shaped Louis XIV frame, by Buhl, designed by Berain…’, the reverse of which is reproduced here in fig. 1. Finally Hartmann, op. cit,., illustrates a strut inlaid similarly to that on the offered mirror, in plate 69.

The Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel (1662-1726) developed a liking for French taste and upon returning to his own court in Munich in 1715, he set out to gather the finest craftsmen of the German speaking world at his court. Very few of them are recorded by name which makes research into the furniture of the Bavarian court extremely difficult. However, due to recent discoveries by the Bavarian National Museum and the scholar Dr. Max Tillmann, Johann Puchwiser( (1680-1744) ) stands out especially.

Several features on the mirror can also be found on other recorded works by Puchwiser including a commode with boulle marquetry attributed to him with the same fluid scrolling foliage, musicians, squirrels and masks. Puchwiser's creativity and free flowing style combines traditional Germanic figures as well as grotesque motifs with ornaments and strapwork much in the manner of Jean Berain's designs. In his introductory letter to the Elector Max Emanuel in Munich he described himself as being` capable of marquetry of the finest standard as was being practised in Vienna’.

The years between 1704 and 1715 were extremely hard for the artists working at the court in Munich as their elector was in exile in Paris. Administration was taken over by the Emperor of Austria and the court was dispersed, partly to Carinthia, in part also to Paris. Puchwiser was relieved of his duties at the Munich Court in 1705, but had already not  been paid for the previous year. When the Elector returned in 1715, he was reinstated as royal cabinet-maker to Max Emanuel. He seems to have made several pieces decorated in marquetry before Max Emanuel's exile as these were recorded on the lists of furniture sent to the Netherlands. The furniture on these lists are not identifiable today. It is believed that Puchwiser was the only cabinetmaker at the time who possessed the capabilities to execute boulle marquetry to this fine level in Munich which leads to the suspicion many more pieces unidentified to this date are also by his hand. It is during this period of exile that he would have been accustomed to making furniture in the Austrian taste as he was completely reliant on the Viennese court for commissions. It is also possible that he underwent some training at the Viennese court during this period.

It is assumed that for economic reasons Puchwiser would have reused the same Berain prints over and over again, but fitting them together in ever new ways. From the records it is also proven that he referred to himself as a “Galanterie-Kistler”, which alludes to the contemporary meaning of gallant, meaning in the style/ imitation of the French. He  also almost certainly new the new engravings after Jean Berain published by Joseph Friedrich Leopold and Jeremias Wolff in 1703 in Augsburg.

Sotheby's. Treasures, Princely Taste. London | 03 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A Italian gilt-bronze and Sicilian Jasper Mounted Frame, Roman or Neapolitan, first half 18th century. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

the arched cresting with a sunburst motif above a later oval mirror plate within a lunette cast border surmounted by an eagle amongst clouds with foliate trails, with a jasper ground within an engraved leaf cast border, the apron cast with a stylised scallopshell flanked by c-scrolls and sprays of palm leaves above a female mask with plaits terminating in a tassel and scallopshell with a scrolled cartouche; the back with handwritten label in ink ` Sig Princip Cellamare' and the printed inv. no 223; originally a Devotional piece 66cm. high, 38cm. wide, 6cm. deep; 2ft. 2in., 1ft. 3in., 2½in. Estimate 70,000-100,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Formerly in the Collections of Principi Cellamare, Naples

Comparative Literature: Massimo Pisani, Palazzo Cellamare, cinque secoli di civiltà napoletana, Electa Naples, 2003.

A related design for a frame by G. Giardini (1646-1721) which is conceived in a similar spirit with scrolls, scallopshells and oak leaves as on the present frame  is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, reproduced here in fig. 1.

The Cellamare Family:
Nicolò (1587-1681), first prince of Cellamare was originally from Genoa and then went to Naples. His son Domenico (1637-1724), second prince of Cellamare and second Duke of Giovinazzo had a son called Antonio (1657-1733), who was born in Naples and brought up in the Court of Spain where his father was in attendance. Domenico, has been Treasurer during the reign of the Spanish in Naples and the Spanish ambassador to the Duke of Savoy and French and Portuguese Kings. Antonio acquired the palace in 1696 for 18,000 ducats and immediately set about ambitious building works by the architect Antonio Picchiatti (1617-1694) which resulted in the grandiose building that exists today.

In May 1715, Antonio was summoned to Paris to be the ambassador for the Spanish crown at exactly the same time when the question of the succession of Louis XIV arose.The Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, became King of Spain and wanted to resieze power as Louis XIV had declared in his will. As ambassador of Spain, Antonio del Giudice Cellamare helped him and organised a plan which failed. He had three children with Anna Camilla Borghese: Angelo was born in 1694 and died in the same year, Nicola (1696-1725), who did not have any children and Costanza (1697-1770) who married Francesco Caracciolo, Prince of Villa S. Maria in 1722.

Sotheby's. Treasures, Princely Taste. London | 03 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

An Italian carved giltwood and reverse painting on glass mirror, Venetian, second quarter 18th century. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

the arched cresting surmounted by a female mask amongst acanthus sprays flanked by a flower-filled vase above a painted panel depicting lovers in a landscape with cupid, flanked on either side by boldy carved cherub terms above a further painted panel depicting two semi-naked females in drapery one inscribing a tree trunk flanked on either side by amorini, the side panels painted with gambolling cherubs with flower-filled vases, garlands, ribbons and trophies of Love, each angle carved with stylised lambrequins c-scrolls, flowers and foliage, the mirrored shaped borders carved with tasselled lambrequins, the panel on the apron depicting a reclining semi-naked female figure of Venus greeting Jupiter, the apron centred by a stylised anthemion the whole carved with c and s-scolls, flowers, leaves and rocaille. 293cm. high, 202cm. wide; 9ft. 7¼in., 6ft. 7½in. Estimate 150,000-300,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Collection of cav. Eugenio Imbert, Milan prior to 1958;
Italian Private Collection

LITTERATURE: Giuseppe Morazzoni, Il Mobile Veneziano del Settecento, Vol I, Milan,1958, illustrated Tav. CCXXXI.

Comparative Literature: Graham Child, World Mirrors, 1650-1900, London, 1990, p. 363.

This impressive mirror which is unique both for its size and profusely painted borders is a superlative example of the virtuosity of Venetian carvers in the first half of the 18th century.

The technique of 'back painting’ (painting on the back of glass panels), was a technique employed in Italy from the 14th century often with silver and gold leaf and later by the English in the 16th century. Reverse painting on glass is an art form consisting of applying paint to a piece of glass and then viewing the image by turning the glass over and looking through the glass at the image. Verre Églomiséis a commonly used term to refer to the art of cold painting and gilding on the back of glass. It was popular for Byzantine icons and this technique spread to Italy where in Venice it was influenced by Renaissance art. Since the middle of the 18th century, painting on glass became  much sought after by the Church and the nobility throughout Europe. One can find mirrors made in 18th century Rome and Naples with flowers painted on the surface of the mirror, however, that technique is far less complex and requires less skill than that of the painter of the scenes on the reverse of the offered mirror. 

Sotheby's. Treasures, Princely Taste. London | 03 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

A pair of Russian glass and hardstone panels attributed to the Ust-Ruditsa Lomonosov glass workshops, Russia, circa 1765-1770. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

each of rectangular form, one with a ribbon-tied pail applied with a ladybird, together with a wicker basket of fruit including pears, grapes, peaches, cherries, pomegranates flanked by butterflies, carrots, a watering can, gardening hat, and scythe, the other with a scrolled bracket surmounted by two male masks and a baluster fruit-filled vase with various birds within a landscape with rockwork, trees and foliage, with various animals including a monkey in a wicker basket, together with another seated monkey, a peacock, a sheep, cat, dog, bear cub, and turtle on a stylised plinth with a stylised scallopshell beneath with simulated corals and pearls on a rocky outcrop, both within frames with a beaded and ribboned border and faux tortoiseshell ground with turquoise diagonal stripes with three pear shaped drops at each corner. Panel A: 46.2cm. high, 33.5cm. wide; 18¼in., 13in; Panel B: 46.2cm. high, 34cm. wide; 18¼in, 13¼in. Estimate 250,000-500,000 GBP

PROVENANCE: Formerly in a French Collection

Comparative Literature:

Imperatorskiy Steklianniy Zavod, 1777-1917 K225-letiiou so dnia osnovannia (Imperial Glass Factory. 1777-1917. 225th Foundation Day Anniversary) - Exhibition Catalogue, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2004, Slavia, St Petersburg, 2004. (In Russian and English).

Nina Asharina, Tamara Malinina, Liudmila Kazakova,  Russian Glass of the 17th - 20th centuries The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 2009.

Tamara A. Malinina, Imperatorskiy Steklianniy Zavod - XVIII Natchalo XX Veka (Imperial Glass Factory 18th - early 20th centuries), The State Hermitage Publishers, St Petersburg, 2009 (in Russian).

M.V Lomonossov i Elizavetinskoe vremia (Mikhail Lomonossov and the time of Elizabeth Ist)  - Exhibition catalogue St Petersburg, the State Hermitage publishers, 2011 (in Russian).

Emmanuel Ducamp, (Ed.), The Summer Palaces of the Romanovs - Treasures from Tsarskoye Selo, Thames and Hudson, London, 2012.

Catherine la Grande, un art pour l'Empire, Chefs-d'œuvre du musée de l'Ermitage de Saint-Pétersbourg, catalogue d'exposition, musée des Beaux-arts de l'Ontario, 2005, musée des Beaux-arts Montréal, 2006, p. 127.

The art of coloured glass in Russia and Mikhail Lomonosov’s workshops in Ust-Ruditsa

Text by Emmanuel Ducamp

The activity of the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, his research on coloured glass and the creations by his workshops in Ust-Ruditsa are now better known thanks to the research done by Russian specialists, especially the synthesis made by L. Tarasova in the catalogue of the exhibition “Mikhail Lomonosov and the time of Elisabeth I” which took place in the Hermitage Museum in 2011.

It seems that Lomonov’s interest in the technique of working with glass as a decorative material started from around 1740 and into the1750’s, when two glass mosaic paintings from the Vatican workshops arrived in St-Petersburg. One of these mosaic paintings was a portrait of Empress Elisabeth I made by Alessandro Cocchi, the official mosaicist of Pope Benoit XI, who sent it to the Empress as a present. Lomonosov contacted the Vice Chancellor, Count Vorontsov, and praised the advantages of this technique and the possibility of expanding its use in the decoration of interiors, especially for public buildings. Undoubtedly, he wanted to revive this ancient Russian art of mosaics, with the mosaic decorations in the Churches of Kiev and Novgorod dating from the 11th and 12th centuries being two famous examples.

It is purported that up until 1752, Lomonosov undertook several experiments and around 4,000 attempts in the laboratory of chemistry at the Academy of Sciences. He wanted to reclaim the process of making coloured glass again. He finally managed to create an impressive palette of 112 different colours, by repute even larger than the palette of the Vatican. In 1752, he obtained the Russian monopoly for this process, confirmed by the Russian Senate on 14th December 1752 and 15th March, 1753, which made it possible to create a factory in Ust-Ruditsa, West of St-Petersburg.

The first pieces in coloured glass were made by the factory in 1754. The workshops employed more than 200 workers in three main buildings, which housed workshops for the preparation of the  mélanges  and the  pâte de verre, several ovens and a water-mill used to activate the machines in order to cut and polish glass. The opaque and coloured glass used for these pieces was calledsmalt, made in different shapes, depending on the work of art and where it would be used. It could be shaped as pearls which were then sewn onto canvas, half-spheres or half-ovals applied to glass or stone, or various geometrically shaped pieces forming the base material for mosaics.

Mosaics were laid over a metal ground (in general over copper). Small pieces of glass were applied with fish glue onto a ground made of powdered alabaster, in order to improve the adhesion. Lomonosov developed the mosaic process himself as well as the proportion of chemicals composing each colour of the palette. For example, glass became green when copper was added, turquoise or black, depending on the quantity of added iron, pale red with mercury, while ruby coloured red was created with gold. In the archives, a distinction is made between masters in mosaics, for instance M. Vassiliev, E. Melnikov, Ya. Chalaourov or I. Petrov,  and those known as “smaltistes” masters, like I. Zielkh, F. Rogojine or M. Kyrillov. The remarkable work of Lomonosov in this field was even mentioned in the Nouvelles de Florence, in 1764.

The chef d'oeuvre of the works created at Ust-Ruditsa is undoubtedly the mosaic depicting Peter the Great, victorious over the Swedes at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. It is now located on the main staircase at the Academy of Sciences in St-Petersburg. Originally, it was made in order to decorate a commemorative mausoleum in the Imperial Necropole in the Peter and Paul cathedral, where Peter the Great was laid to rest, located in the fortress of the same name and considered as the starting point for the foundation of the city.

Lomonosov won the competition organized by the Senate in 1758 and wanted to introduce no less than seventeen coloured glass mosaics in the spectacular mausoleum, depicting episodes in the life of the Tzar, scenes from Scripture and the life of the apostles Peter and Paul. Because of the death in 1761 of Elisabeth I, the daughter of Peter the Great, the project could not be completed. However, some mosaics remain, such as the Battle of Poltava which was made between 1761 and 1765.

Other mosaic pieces from Lomonosov’s workshops, which are now preserved in either the Hermitage Museum or in the Russian Museum, are mainly portraits (Elisabeth I, Peter III, Catherine the Great, Vice Chancellor Vorontsov, Count Chouvalov, Count Orlov) or representations of the Virgin or of Saints.

Empress Catherine II reigned from 1762 and decided to build the … Private Dacha of Her Majesty …in Oranienbaum, now known as the ‘Chinese palace’ designed by the architect Antonio Rinaldi. The Italian architect asked Lomonosov’s workshop to carry out the decoration of one of the most extraordinary Russian creations of the 18th century: the Glass Cabinet of the Chinese Palace. Not only is the panelling of this Cabinet (which still exists) made of millions of glass pearls which are sewn onto fabric backing, covering the whole surface of the wall, but there was also a pavement in smalt glass mosaic  which did not survive because of its fragility  and two remarkable tables in smalt glass mosaic with gilt or silver bronze mounts, realized between 1765 and 1775 (both tables still in existence). One of the table tops represents a trompe-l’œil of a desk depicted with closed and open books (one of them showing  an atlas), a compass, a world map and some parchments, while the other includes an allegoric landscape – surrounded by geometric patterns - alluding to the victory of Russia against Turkey in 1770 (figs. 1 and 2).

Apart from the main material, the most interesting detail for us is the use of four groups of glass or pietre dure fruits applied in the middle of each side of the frieze of one of the two tables.  Whilst the glass used in order to create these came from Lomonosov’s workshops, the mosaic technique applied to the tables is more precise than that used for the portraits created by the Lomonossov workshops; it is attributed to the master I. Martino who worked at that time at the Imperial Stone-cutting manufactory in  Peterhof (fig. 3).

Founded in the early 1720’s under the reign of Peter the Great, the Peterhof factory was one of three Imperial factories created in the eighteenth century in order to put to good use the wealth of Russian minerals in the Imperial residences. It produced works of art in Russian coloured stones coming from the Ural Mountains or the Altai Mountains in Siberia.  It is famous for many works made with different types of jasper and in particular Russian stones, such as amazonite, malachite, nephrite, labradorite, or Baikal lapis-lazuli.

Examples of the works produced at the Peterhof Imperial factory are particularly interesting for us with two tables made in pietre dure and coloured glass, created for Catherine the Great in Tsarskoie Selo in the 1770’s, with their tops in Baikal lapis-lazuli (displayed today in the Arabesque Hall in the Catherine Palace). Not only do they show the use of both pietre dure and smalt glass, but they also boast the same elements as those used in our panels (fig. 4).

For example, small panels with a frame made of half-pearls which are similar to those used in the frames of panels A & B, and groups of fruits in pietre dure or in smalt glass which are similar to those in panel A, are visible on the frieze of these two tables (fig. 5). Moreover, the flat pilasters emulating the frieze of the Tsarskoie Selo’s tables are in a coloured glass which imitates lapis-lazuli, as well as the profile and the upper part of the stand pedestal surmounted by a vase of panel B. This same glass, imitating lapis-lazuli, can be found on the Oranienbaum glass table top with a geometric drawing and also in the frameworks of profile portraits of Peter the Great and Catherine I displayed in the central Hall of the Chinese palace of Oranienbaum.

On panel B, the smalt glass platform imitating jasper is similar to the marbled glass used in the other Oranienbaum table. Moreover, on that same panel B, the shell underneath the platform (fig. 6) reproduces nearly exactly that which is in the lower part of one of the glass beads panels in the Glass Cabinet of the Chinese palace, and it is similarly surrounded by coral branches in the form of a fan (fig. 7).

As to the pietre dure, the lower part of the pedestal in panel B is made of pink agate, like all frames on the friezes of the Tsarskoie Selo’s tables and some of the fruits in panel A. On their stretcher (fig. 8), petals of flowers and leaves done in nephrite (another typical Russian stone) are similar to those used on panel A. Finally, pieces of natural malachite visible on the sides of the platform in panel B, or representing leaves and the body of a flying bird in the left upper part of that same panel, would serve to confirm the Russian origin of these works of art.

All these elements put together make it possible to assume that panels A & B were made in Lomonosov’s workshops in Ust-Ruditsa, with the potential participation  of the Peterhof Stone-cutting manufactory, probably in the late 1760’s or early 1770’s when the workshops were moved from Ust-Ruditsa to be placed under the authority of the Chancery in charge of buildings, after Lomonosov had died in 1765.

They were certainly made for a decorative purpose, as an objet de vertu for a prestigious and refined interior. Another question would be their meaning. For panel A, could it be an evocation of the vegetable kingdom depicting an abundance of fruit and vegetables?  For panel B, could it in turn be an evocation of the animal kingdom which depicts animals like a peacock, a lamb, a dog, a duck, a tortoise, birds and a monkey. Questions which invite further research.

It is known that Catherine the Great particularly appreciated works in glass. Her bedchamber in the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoie Selo, designed by the British architect Charles Cameron, was entirely lined with white opaline glass panels and translucent purple glass bands and columns. It seems they had been made at the Imperial Crystal Manufactory in St-Petersburg which had already sent two masters – Ivan Konerov and Piotr Drujinin – to study the techniques for manufacturing coloured glass at the workshops of Lomonosov as early as the 1750’s. The boudoir of the Tsarina, nicknamed “Tabakierka” (or Snuffbox ) because of its small size, was also covered with white opaline glass panels and translucent blue glass. In this room, there were two white opaline crystal and blue glass stools (now lost) and one accompanying table (still preserved in Tsarskoie Selo). The three items were decorated with gilt-bronze mounts to echo the walls of the room. They are thought to have been made by Georg König, who practiced the art of stained wax and glass in a particular workshop located in the Small Hermitage by the Winter Palace, St-Petersburg. König was German and had arrived in St-Petersburg in the mid 1770’s. He was accepted into the Foreign Masters’ Guild in 1777. Together with another famous master active in this workshop, Karl Leberecht, König is known to have helped make glass cameo casts for Catherine the Great.

In 1779, König created a coloured glass medallion which is now preserved in the Hermitage Museum, (fig. 9). It is very similar to panel A when comparing the material and type of motifs. A quantity of coloured glass fruits which imitates opaque and translucent pietre dure or semiprecious stones is reproduced on the ground of the glass medallion itself, simulating agate. There are other similarities: a basket in cane work, laden with fruit, amethyst or ruby-coloured grapes and multi-coloured birds. On the upper part of the medallion the portrait in profile of Catherine II is shown on the simulated agate background, echoing the engraved cameos that she loved.  Her head is crowned with laurel, her presence seemingly emphasising her patronage and taste for the art of Russian coloured glass.

Panels A and B and the combination they show of both techniques of pietre dureand smalt glass are a rare testimony to the various Russian craftsmanships, particularly successful during the second half of the eighteenth century. They do credit to the work of the Russian sovereigns, who tried to promote Russia and raise it to the same level and status as its European neighbours. Nothing was too beautiful enough to decorate their palaces. Legend has it that the blue paint used for the façades of Catherine's favourite residence, the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoie Selo, was obtained by mixing the oil paint with ground turquoise glass, used as a pigment. Since the latter was chemically stable, as it had been previously fired, the paint would not fade in sun light. In the nineteenth century, the art of coloured glass found its crowning moment in St-Petersburg, with the mosaics made by the workshop of the Imperial Academy of Arts, first for Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, and then for the Church of the Saviour of the Spilt Blood, with its monumental decoration nearly entirely made in smalt glass.

Sotheby's. Treasures, Princely Taste. London | 03 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com

Roy Lichtenstein, The White Tree, 1980. Oil and Magna on canvas, 105 x 210 inches  (266.7 x 533.4 cm) © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

PARIS - Les premières appropriations de l'esthétique de la culture populaire américaine par Lichtenstein en ont fait un acteur majeur du développement du Pop Art. Tout en s'inspirant des œuvres de Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró ou Paul Klee, il a incorporé dans sa peinture des éléments emblématiques de l'art contemporain mais aussi de magazines populaires. Dès 1961 il commence à utiliser la technique d'impression de points Benday utilisée dans les bandes dessinées, les journaux et les panneaux d'affichage, une technique qui est devenue la signature de son travail. En imitant cette méthode industrielle et en s'appropriant des images de haute et de basse culture, Lichtenstein a permis de rendre l'art contemporain accessible au plus grand nombre, une situation inexistante jusqu'alors. Certaines de ses séries les plus iconiques trouvent leur imagerie dans la culture Pop: les publicités, les bandes dessinées de guerre, les pin-up; mais aussi dans des genres plus traditionnels comme les paysages ou les natures mortes. En se concentrant sur l'histoire de l'art, Lichtenstein a commencéà explorer des motifs architecturaux plus classiques. En effet, dès la fin des années 1960, des éléments caractéristiques du futurisme mais aussi du cubisme, du surréalisme et de l'expressionnisme apparaissent régulièrement dans son travail.

Parmi les styles et les mouvements que Lichtenstein s'est approprié, on trouve les motifs expressionnistes, le gros plan d'Alexei Jawlensky, les visages songeurs et les figures félines déchiquetées d'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner qui démontrent la plus transparente des ironies. En incluant des peintures clés, de la sculpture, des dessins et des gravures sur bois, cette exposition révèle le paradoxe audacieux posé par Lichtenstein en interprétant des sujets expressionnistes avec des couleurs primaires et la planéité caractéristique du style Pop Art. Parfois il a substitué au système de points Benday, des rayures, des ombres et de la grisaille évoquant des gravures sur bois expressionnistes, allant ainsi jusqu'à créer ses propres gravures sur bois intégrant une rhétorique expressionniste. Cette exploration a été réalisée en trois dimensions avec le bronze peint: Expressionist Head (1980), invraisemblablement incliné.

Pendant un voyage à Los Angeles en 1978, Lichtenstein resta fasciné par la collection de gravures expressionnistes allemandes et les livres illustrés de l'avocat Robert Rifkind. Il a alors commencéà produire des œuvres qui empruntaient des éléments stylistiques trouvés dans des peintures expressionnistes. The White Tree (1980) évoque les paysages lyriques de Der Blaue Reiter, tandis que Dr. Waldmann (1980) rappelle le Dr. Mayer-Hermann d'Otto Dix (1926). Des petits dessins au crayon de couleur ont été utilisés comme modèles pour des gravures sur bois, un moyen d'expression favorisé par Emil Nolde et Max Pechstein, mais aussi par Dix et Kirchner. Head (1980), une gravure sur bois imprimée autant en noir qu'en sept couleurs, a été créée à partir d'un bloc de bois de bouleau que Lichtenstein a coupéà travers le grain pour imiter la surface lisse et la coloration équilibrée de ses peintures. En gardant certains effets stylistiques de l'expressionisme mais en abandonnant sa charge émotionnelle, ou encore en s'inspirant d'éléments d'autres mouvements artistiques, Lichtenstein a véritablement remis en question les différences de mouvement de l'histoire de l'art.

L'exposition "Lichtenstein: Expressionism" est accompagnée d'un catalogue entièrement illustré comprenant un essai par Brenda Schmahmann, une conversation entre Hans Ulrich Obrist et Mayen Beckmann et une conversation entre Ruth Fine et Sidney B. Felsen.

Cette exposition a été préparée en étroite collaboration avec la Fondation Roy Lichtenstein et l'Estate of Roy Lichtenstein. Elle coïncide avec la rétrospective itinérante consacrée à l'artiste qui aura lieu du 3 juillet au 4 novembre 2013 prochain au Centre Georges Pompidou, à Paris.

Roy Lichtenstein est né en 1923 à New York, où il est mort en 1997. Son travail a été exposé dans le monde entier. Parmi les récentes rétrospectives on compte "All about Art," au Louisiana Museum, Humelbaek en 2003, exposée ensuite à la Hayward Gallery à Londres; au Musée Reina Sofia, à Madrid; et au Musée d'Art Moderne de San Francisco, en 2005; "Classic of the New," Kunsthaus Bregenz (2005); et "Roy Lichtenstein: Meditations on Art," au Museo Triennale, à Milan en 2010 (exposée ensuite au Museum Ludwig à Cologne). L'exposition "Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective" a débutéà l'Art Institute of Chicago en mai 2012 puis à la National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. et à la Tate Modern à Londres. Elle sera visible du 3 juillet au 4 novembre 2013 au Centre Georges Pompidou à Paris.

Roy Lichtenstein, Portrait of a Woman, 1979. Oil and Magna on linen, 70 x 54 inches (177.8 x 137.2 cm)© Estate of Roy Lichtenstein RL 0824

PARIS - Lichtenstein's early appropriation of the aesthetics of American popular culture made him integral to the development of Pop art. Studying the work of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Paul Klee, he incorporated elements of contemporary art theory and popular print media into his painting. In 1961 he began to replicate the Benday dot system used in comics, newspapers, and billboards; this would become a signature element of his work. By mimicking this industrial method and appropriating images from high and low culture, Lichtenstein realized a broad accessibility that had not yet been achieved in contemporary art. Some of his most recognizable series evolved from pop-cultural imagery: advertisements, war comics, and pin-ups, as well as traditional genres such as landscape and still-life painting. Turning his attention to art history, he began exploring classical architectural motifs. Beginning in the late 1960s, defining elements of Futurism--followed by Cubism, Surrealism, and Expressionism--featured regularly in his work.

Among the styles and movements appropriated by Lichtenstein, his borrowing of Expressionist motifs—from Alexei Jawlensky's close-up, pensive faces to Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's jagged, feline figures—strikes the clearest irony. Including key paintings, sculpture, drawings, and woodcuts, this exhibition demonstrates the bold paradox that Lichtenstein posed by translating Expressionist subjects into the primary colors and pop flatness of his signature style. Sometimes he traded the Benday dots for striping, shading, and grisaille patterns in paintings that evoke Expressionist woodcuts, going as far as to create his own woodcuts incorporating Expressionist tropes. This exploration was realized in three dimensions with the impossibly tilted painted bronze caricature Expressionist Head (1980).

During a trip to Los Angeles in 1978, Lichtenstein was fascinated by lawyer Robert Rifkind's collection of German Expressionist prints and illustrated books. He began to produce works that borrowed stylistic elements found in Expressionist paintings. The White Tree (1980) evokes lyricDer Blaue Reiter landscapes, while Dr. Waldmann (1980) recalls Otto Dix's Dr. Mayer-Hermann (1926). Small colored-pencil drawings were used as templates for woodcuts, a medium favored by Emil Nolde and Max Pechstein, as well as Dix and Kirchner. Head (1980), a woodcut printed in both black and seven-color states, was made from a birch woodblock that Lichtenstein cut across the grain to emulate the smooth surface and even coloration of his paintings. Plucking stylistic strings while leaving the raw emotional tone of the movement behind, Lichtenstein's use of Expressionism and other pivotal moments in art history called all remaining boundaries into question.

"Lichtenstein: Expressionism" is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue that includes an essay by Brenda Schmahmann, and conversations between Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mayen Beckmann, and Ruth Fine and Sidney B. Felsen.

This exhibition was prepared in close collaboration with the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein, and coincides with the touring retrospective at Centre Georges Pompidou, on view from July 3 through November 4.

Roy Lichtenstein was born in 1923 in New York, where he died in 1997. His work has been exhibited extensively worldwide. Recent retrospective surveys include "All About Art," Louisiana Museum, Humelbaek (2003, traveled to Hayward Gallery, London; Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through 2005); "Classic of the New," Kunsthaus Bregenz (2005); and "Roy Lichtenstein: Meditations on Art," Museo Triennale, Milan (2010, traveled to Museum Ludwig Cologne). "Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective" opened at the Art Institute of Chicago in May of 2012 and traveled to National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Tate Modern, London. It will be on view from July 3-November 4 at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.

Roy Lichtenstein, Woman Drying Her Hair, 1980. Oil and Magna on canvas, 46 x 42 inches (116.8 x 106.7 cm)© Estate of Roy Lichtenstein RL 0848

Hermès. Unique Bamboo Bracelet Cuff, 1970