Roman Pietre Dure-Top Attributed to Raffaelli on an Anglo-Indian Ebony Table

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Roman Pietre Dure-Top Attributed to Raffaelli on an Anglo-Indian Ebony Table

About the Item

The inlaid marble top, circa 1820-1830; the Sinhalese ebony base of a similar date. From the 18th century there was a insatiable demand for Italian inlaid marble table-tops, often carefully assembled from ancient fragments, thus perpetuating the link with antiquity that was the quintessence of the Grand Tour. These were easily transportable, thus invariably mounted back in England on mahogany, gilded or rosewood bases but very rarely in Sinhalese ebony of the type described in Regency inventories as ‘richly carved’ from the celebrated jet-black Diospyros. This powerful table follows designs published in leading pattern books such as The Practical Cabinet-Maker, 1827, by Peter and Michael Angelo Nicholson, who note ‘the tops of tables are often ornamented with beautiful mosaic work.’ The exceptional top is inlaid in trompe l’oeil around a radial geometric pattern of 128 specimen marbles and rare hardstones, porphyry, agates, alabaster, malachite, lapis lazuli and labradorite. There are several possible contenders for the maker, including Michelangelo Barberi and Alfonso Cavamelli, however a closer attribution may be made to the most celebrated mosaicist working in Rome, Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836), whose illustrious clients included Napoleon, many of the crowned heads of Europe and Russian nobility including Baron Demidoff and Countess Orloff. Examples of Raffaelli's mosaic work are in the Gilbert Collection, The Hermitage, Syon House, Château de Fontainebleau and Temple Newsam; (see JH Gabriel, The Gilbert Collection, Micromosaics, Appendix, pp. 263-274). The central specimen tablet of labradorite, an orthoclase feldspar resembling a butterfly wing which was particularly favoured by Raffaelli, may conceivably indicate a Russian patron.

Attributed to:
Giacomo Raffaelli (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
Style:
Neoclassical (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Ebony,Marble,Carved,Inlay
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
1820-1829
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1820-1830
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU118722329972