A Pietre Dure Table
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1610
Materials
Table top: the base slab is Carrara marble, the edging is of Portor marble, the top veneered with a ground of Breccia di Tivoli (centre) and black Belgian marble (border) inlaid "a commesso" with various marbles and hardstones including : Alabaster, Brocatello, Bianco e nero antico, Giallo antico, jasper, agate and lapis-lazuli; Table base: carved oak, parcel-gilt
Measurements
790 x 1240 mm; 1780 mm (Length)
Place of origin
Rome
Order this imageCollection
Charlecote Park, Warwickshire
NT 532986
Summary
A pietre dure table top, Rome or Florence, circa 1610, raised on a carved and parcel-gilt oak table made circa 1824 after the "Borghese/Beckford" pietre dure table base (NT 532954) and bearing the Lucy cross crosslets as opposed to the Beckford Latimer cross on the latter. The table top is centred by an oval of alabaster fiorito issuing radiating festoons of lapis-lazuli within a strapwork-shaped cartouche of Brocatello and lapis-lazuli incorporating a few bouquet flowers in vases, on a background of Breccia di Tivoli, the borders are inlaid with scrollwork cartouches of alabaster, lapis-lazuli, bianco e nero marble, green jasper and Brocatello, the overall composition is surrounded by a frieze showing a complex geometrical design on a Giallo antico background.
References
Wainwright, 1989: Clive Wainwright, The romantic interior: the British collector at home, 1750-1850. Studies in British Art. New Haven; London: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, 1989. [Charlecote pp.208-240] Giusti 1992: Anna Maria Giusti, Hardstone in furniture and decorations, Philip Wilson, 1992. Koeppe 2008: Wolfram Koeppe, Annamaria Giusti, Art of the Royal Court, Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe, exhibition July 1-September 21 2008, Metropolitan Museum, New York.