Stand
probably Italian (Venetian) School
Category
Furniture
Date
Unknown
Materials
Parcel-gilt and ebonised wood
Measurements
965 mm (Height)
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Dorneywood House and Gardens, Buckinghamshire
NT 1507475
Summary
An Italian Rococo-style parcel-gilt and ebonised stand, Italian, 19th century. A richly-carved wooden stand with a canted oval top, reeded edge, the top mounted onto an ebonised and parcel-gilt terminal figure of a child, holding in the proper left hand a gilded bunch of grapes, the palm of the proper right hand facing up as if holding a tray. The waist sheathed in gilt acanthus leaves and issuing acanthus trails which coil around a cabriole stem, branching to three scrolled rocaille feet.
Full description
The figures derive from a European aesthetic tradition called the ‘blackamoor’, a conflation of the Black African and Muslim ‘Moor’. In material culture the term was used to describe highly stylised and stereotyped representations of Black African people, wearing exotic and orientalised costume and often assuming subservient positions. The motif has existed in western decorative art since the medieval period but developed into a recognisable type in Italy, chiefly Venice, from the 17th century. The ornamental body of the ‘blackamoor’ could also perform a function, as a supportive element in furniture, or as a stand to hold objects or food. The motif is seen across European decorative arts from ceramics to silverware, heraldry to jewellery, furniture to sculpture, architecture, painting and print (e.g. NT 1254497, 452977, 936871, 118826, 129512, 802613, 1139940). ‘Blackamoor’ figures were manufactured for the luxury European market and displayed by their owners as markers of power and wealth.
Makers and roles
probably Italian (Venetian) School , cabinetmaker