Antique Neo-Classical Tuscan Fireplace Marble Italy 18th Century

Naples, Late XVIII Century

Pair of Neapolitan Rococo chests of drawers. Completely rounded in shape, or made with a vertical and horizontal movement, they are made with the internal hull in poplar and then veneered in quadripartite Bois de violette enriched with borders in contrasting grain, reserves on the drawers and a polylobed rosette on the sides. The whole is played by contrasting the marked grain of the same wood, even the pronounced edges of the uprights and the edge of the drawers are made of bois de violette worked on the head. The top has a riser on the bottom to insert a wall paneling on which the shelves rest, made of marble veneered in a rare flowered alabaster with borders in red Verona marble. According to the construction canons of the highest Neapolitan cabinetmaking, the drawers and the top are separated by a poplar diaphragm to limit access to dust. The feet are covered with bronze shoes that have lost their gilding. These applications, like the rounded shape of the furniture are very similar to the pair of chests of drawers published by Alvar Gonzalez-Palacios, the only difference (in addition to the inlay decoration) is the apron of the front that is lowered with a double move on the front and with an asymmetrical movement on the sides. On the back there is a transport label while under one of the shelves there is a paper label with sealing wax with the writing "C Napoli - 47 - Pignatelli". The furniture clearly comes from a luxury context, extrapolated from a boiserie that must have covered the entire room in which it was inserted; probably a study given the unusual and rare dimensions of the two pieces of furniture. The furniture of this era, if made for important commissions, always has a choice of fine marbles as can be seen in the examples preserved at the Museo Duca di Martina in Villa Floridiana in Naples. Restorations and small missing parts.

Emilia Romagna, Late XVIII Century

Neoclassical table in poplar with a square section, completely veneered. Top with inlay with a geometric score made of olive and carob borders, crossed to form four small inlaid rosettes, the reserves are veneered in quadripartite walnut, the fillets that outline the borders are in maple and black-stained chestnut. The same motifs decorate the bands while the legs, truncated-conical, are veneered in olive wood. Small missing parts. Emilia, last quarter of the 18th century.