Baroque Desk Walnut Italy XVIII Century - Veneto Last Fourth of the 18th Century

Features

Veneto Last Fourth of the 18th Century

Style: Barocchetto (1720-1770)

Age: 18th Century / 1701 - 1800

Origin: Veneto, Italy

Main essence: Silver Fir , Maple , Walnut

Material: Burnished Bronze , Leather , Walnut Burl Slab

Description

Baroque open desk in walnut, Veneto, last quarter of the 18th century. Top with leather insert, drawer and 3 drawers in the band, pair of doors and wavy legs ending with burnished bronze shoes. Inlaid with medallion frames, threaded in maple and veneered in walnut briar. Spruce interior.

Product Condition:
Product that due to age and wear requires restoration and resumption of polishing.

Dimensions (cm):
Height: 81,5
Width: 112,5
Depth: 59,5

Additional Information

Style: Barocchetto (1720-1770)

This term refers, specifically to furniture, to a part of the production carried out in Italy in the period between the Rococo era and the first phase of neoclassicism.

It is characterised by the formal and decorative structure still rigidly in adherence to the dictates dear to the Baroque period (hence the term barocchetto) and to the Louis XIV fashions and yet the new times can be seen in the adoption of smaller volumes, more elegant decorative modules, often directly inspired by French fashion, but always executed with rigorous principles of ornamental symmetry.

The tendency to assimilate formal and volumetric innovations but not to incorporate their ornamental elaboration finds a natural explanation in Italy in the fact that in this century the great aristocracy is experiencing an unstoppable political and economic decline.

If in the previous century there was a great profusion of furnishings intended to decorate recently built homes, to proudly show the power of the commissioning family, in In the 18th century, the focus was on updating the building with only the furniture strictly necessary for the new needs imposed by fashion or functional needs.

The old scenographic apparatus was maintained and the new must not contrast too much.

Find out more about the Barocchetto with our insights:
Classic Monday: discovering the Barocchetto
Classic Monday: between Baroque and Baroque
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FineArt: Pair of Late Baroque Chairs, Venice
Emilian chest of drawers, first quarter of the 18th century, early Late Baroque
Urn shelf, Milan, mid-18th century

INSERT ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Classic Monday: The Austrian Taste of Baroque
Classic Monday: Pietro Longhi's Baroque
Classic Monday: The Sculptures of the Italian Baroque

Age: 18th Century / 1701 - 1800

18th Century / 1701 - 1800

Main essence:

Silver Fir

Soft coniferous wood, used for rustic furniture or to build the chest, that is the structure, of furniture then veneered in more precious woods. It has been used since ancient times, its most valuable use is, in the Spruce variant, in the inlays of French antique furniture of the '700 . The spruce, more typical of northern Europe, in Italy grows mainly in the Eastern Alps at altitudes above 1300 m. The noblest use of this essence was in the construction of violins, guitars and cellos: Stradivari himself produced his famous violins with this wood.

Maple

Hard, light wood used for inlays. It grows mainly in Austria, but it is widespread throughout the northern hemisphere, from Japan to North America, passing through China and Europe. It is one of the lightest woods ever, tending to white, it is similar to lime or birch wood. The briar is used in the production of ancient secretaires .

Walnut

Walnut wood comes from the plant whose botanical name is juglans regia , probably originally from the East but very common in Europe. Light or dark brown in color, it is a hard wood with a beautiful grain, widely used in antique furniture. It was the main essence in Italy throughout the Renaissance and later had a good diffusion in Europe, especially in England, until the advent of mahogany. It was used for solid wood furniture and sometimes carvings and inlays, its only big limitation is that it suffers a lot from woodworm. In France it was widely used more than anything else in the provinces. In the second half of the eighteenth century its use decreased significantly because mahogany and other exotic woods were preferred.