An Italian pietre dure, gilt-bronze-and gilt-copper-mounted mother of pearl inlaid ebony and ebonised cabinet, Florentine, 17th

An Italian pietre dure, gilt-bronze-and gilt-copper-mounted mother of pearl inlaid ebony and ebonised cabinet, Florentine, Grand Ducal Workshop. Second half 17th century

the drawer with a mosaic lunette painted in agate in the background of a stylised mother of pearl scallopshell flanked by two gilt-bronze twigs with two cherries carved in red jasper, above a fall-front opening to reveal a pull-out section with three drawers revealing two secret drawers on either side, one with the inscription: repariert 1929 P.J. Euttner, Berlin; Neukoln...28, with a drawer above and below, with two plaques of Sicilian flowering jasper flanked by four drawers, the top right drawer concealing a further secret drawer, on later feet. 72cm. high, 118.5cm. wide, 41cm. deep;2ft. 4 1/4in., 3ft. 10 1/2in., 1ft. 4in. Est. 200,000—300,000 GBP

NOTE: The naturalistic subjects of flowers and birds that form the decoration are typical of the Florentine mosaics created in the Galleria dei Lavori (Grand Ducal Workshop). The subjects were influenced by the mosaicist Jacopo Ligozzi (Verona 1547-Florence 1626), who initiated the trend from the first decades of XVII century. Since then, for over a century, the Belgian black marble panel that constituted the ideal background in order to highlight the bright colours of the bird plumage and compositions of flowers and fruit, became the official signature of mosaics manufactured in Florence, appreciated everywhere and often imitated, but rarely of the same material, quality and fine execution.
Skills such as those are featured on this very fine and sophisticated cabinet, the panels of which show a rich assortment of mainly hardstones that have been chosen with sensitive detail to colour, combine to give fluidity to the picture. For example, on the central door the luminosity of the chalcedony that graduates to a coral pink creating a delicate roundness to the bird's body; also on the same panel the movement of the veins of oriental alabaster creates the shape of the bowl holding the fruit and flower composition.
Amongst these, the pomegranate stands out in the centre, a symbol celebrating immortality that draws you in to look at the seeds made from flowering Sicilian jasper chosen with considerable attention to detail in order to create such effect.
Amongst the vivid contrasting hues of the mosaics, the luminosity of the lunette stands out–it has already been compared to the lunettes of the cabinet featuring "la Veduta della Villa La Petraia" circa 1615-20, in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence (inv. Sculture 1882, no. 1093), reproduced here in fig. 1, (Splendori di Pietre Dure, catalogue of the exhibition curated by A. Giusti, Florence 1988, cat 31, p. 148).The lunette displays a certain elegance by using slices of the same block of agate, this results in a more intense graduation of tonal light from the veins of the central element, which move towards the lighter edges.
The mother-of-pearl pieces inserted into the agate are a fine detail which can be seen above the curled scroll on the base plate centred by fine agate in hues of pink and violet cut in a couple of mirroring slices. This type of decoration renders the abstract cartouche in a more naturalistic way, this is another method often used in the Florentine mosaics of the XVIIth century. A more elaborate example of which can be seen on the base of the prie-dieu in the Monumental Appartments of Palazzo Pitti dated 1687, (La Cappella dei Principi e le pietre dure a Firenze by U. Badini, A. Giusti, A. Pampaloni Martelli, Milan,1979, fig. 96-97).
The offered cabinet is based on the design of Florentine table cabinets of the mid XVIIth century, in particular the subjects and distribution of mosaics, placed symmetrically on the sides of the central area, the most important feature of which is the door. The ever-present decoration of the flower and fruit bowl composition is in our case enriched with a flying bird, that later towards the end of the century becomes the protagonist on the central door.
The production of this kind of furniture was widespread and continuous under the Grand Ducal period and was not only destined for Medicean residences but often also sent as presents to important figures in society; seen as prestigious business cards of il Granduca di Toscana–holder of such an exclusive artistic workshop.
In order to increase productivity, the same templates were used to create the mosaic panels, as seen here on the four pairs of panels featuring birds and flowers that mirror each other. On the other hand, the fine methods and use of vibrant colour of the stones were far from the risk of repetition, resulting in originality for each creation. This cabinet can be compared with another similar one, for example if we look at the details of the cherries on the volutes. For this reason, it is possible that they could have been originally conceived as a pair. The other cabinet is in the Gilbert Collection, recently under management of the Victoria and Albert Museum (A. Massinelli, The Gilbert Collection of Hardstones, London, 2000, cat. 4, p. 38-40), was later enriched with pieces on the pedestal and crown, reproduced here in fig. 2. Meanwhile our cabinet has maintained its original design and remains structurally compact, borrowed from the prototypes of the first half of the 17th century. This aspect along with the design of the mosaics which are reminiscent of the naturalistic designs of Ligozzi, allow us to date the cabinet within the reign of Ferdinand II (+1670), not long after the middle of the century. Annamaria Giusti, Florence 2009

Sotheby's. Important Furniture, Silver, Ceramics and Clocks. 07 Jul 09 03:00 PM. London www.sothebys.com