An Italian late 17th/ early 18th century ivory inlaid and pietre paesina mounted rosewood, ebony and ebonised table-cabinet

An Italian late 17th/ early 18th century ivory inlaid and pietre paesina mounted rosewood, ebony and ebonised table-cabinet. photo Bonhams

the rectangular top and sides inlaid with ivory cartouches, centred to the front by an architectural pediment above a door flanked by turned columns, the interior fitted with four drawers, flanked to the sides by six long drawers simulating smaller drawers, on tapering feet, 109cm wide, 33cm deep, 52.5cm high (42.5" wide, 12.5" deep, 20.5" high). Sold for £18,000

Literature: Monique Riccardo-Cubitt, The Art of the Cabinet, p. 191, fig. 37, p. 192, fig. 51.

Notes: In the 1620's, the use of a type of stone with natural veining pietre paesina or 'landscape stone' was employed for decorative effect when panels of it were mounted on cabinets: the Albanese limestone which after being polished reveals a natural pattern of mountainous rocky outlines, or the i>Arno Lineato, a different variety of the Albanese limestone, featuring wavey patterns suggesting seas and rivers. Both types of stone provide a perfect background for painted landscapes, or when mounted on table cabinets as on the present lot.

Bonhams. Fine Continental Furniture, Sculpture and Works of Art, 7 Jul 2010. New Bond Street www.bonhams.com