By Valentina
The location of the city of Naples close to the sea has always favored commercial exchanges and, therefore, also cultural ones. The contacts with different realities, in fact, allowed the import of fashions and considered more avant-garde in those years.
Precisely for these reasons, the Neapolitan court was one of those that was most influenced by French taste, especially during the eighteenth century, when fashion from beyond the Alps was considered among the most avant-garde. Direct contacts with the Parisian court made it possible to directly import the lines and refinement that distinguish the furniture French. The Louis XV style was among the most appreciated, translated into local furniture in the Rococo. Refined furniture with wavy and elegant lines, enriched with gilded bronze applications and precious and exotic wood essences, found a wide diffusion in Naples and in the territories subject to its court.
A refined example in this regard is our protagonist of Classic Monday, a rococo dresser belonging to the Neapolitan production.
Elegant furniture, high quality and finished in detail, it is supported by wavy feet, as well as the lower band is also moved. The elegant movement is also proposed on the front, on which there are two large drawers with retractable chain.
Even the essences chosen and the way with which they have been laid, in an absolutely decorative way, are absolutely valuable. Veneered in quadripartite rosewood, it is adorned with a double border in rosewood and bois de rose placed at 45 ° alternating degrees, so that the grain creates geometric games. This motif is also repeated in the reserves on the flanks, also skillfully cared for.
The two drawers are also decorated with a central inlay with a polylobed thread within which there is a floral bouquet inhabited by a parrot. The choice of the animal is a reference to the taste of the exotic and whimsical that was widespread and sought after in recent years.
Great attention also to the realization of the plan, consisting of a shaped slab and worked in the perimeter part with grooves, red Apennine breccia. The dresser is further finished by gilded bronze applications with a rocaille taste, in the upper part of the uprights, in the center of the front apron and also in the shoes of the front feet.
Furniture of great value, it fully expresses the Neapolitan rococo taste and the cultural influence that France exercised in this area.
