attributed to Antonio Aguatti d. 1846 A FINE AND EARLY ROMAN MICROMOSAIC TABLE AND REVOLVING CARVED GILTWOOD STAND CELEBRATING THE TRIUMPH OF CUPID AFTER MICHELANGELO MAESTRI (d. 1812) CIRCA 1800 AND POSSIBLY EARLIER, THE STAND CIRCA 1820'S

The original carved giltwood revolving stand with two big losses to carved apron between outswept scrolled legs. The putti with extensive damage and losses to his right hand, and pointer finger to his left hand. Extensive losses to gilding showing gesso or wood throughout the stand and visible construction seams consistent with wood shrinking or expansion. Please note that the top is revolving. The micromosaic top in very good condition, however there are two minute repairs: one to the left hand side vine garland consisting of tesserae of approximately 1/8 of an inch square, now filled with a beige color filler, another to the upper left leg of the cupid being drawn by butterflies consisting of a loss of tesserae 1/16 of an inch square, now filled with a black filler. The standing cupid holding the oak leaf wreath in the center of the table has a minute hairline crack to the left side side, approximately 3/4 inch long. Some matte areas as a result of loss of varnish to the tabletop which can easily be reversed by polishing the table.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This rare and important mosaic tabletop may be the earliest known work by Antonio Aguatti, one of the first and greatest of all micromosaicists.  The first historical mention of him is a citation of 1806 which lists his atelier among only fourteen others in Rome specializing in "mosaico in piccolo." He was already a master at this date, and had been working in the field of mosaics since the late eighteenth century (G. Guattani, Memorie Enciclopediche sule antichita e belle arti di Roma, 1806 Tome IV, p. 157).  A brilliant artisan, Aguatti's genius was further manifested at an early date by the development of technical innovations which transformed the art of micromosaics. He invented shaped and curved tesserae, refinements that enabled him to reproduce natural textures such as hair, fur, grass and foliage; he made significant improvements in coloration by developing individual tesserae combining multiple hues. These new techniques and materials are all found in the present mosaic, and represent a transition from the neoclassicism of the eighteenth century to the emerging romanticism of the nineteenth century.

Aguatti is believed to have received his training in the workshop of Cesare Aguatti, one of the most distinguished mosaicists of the second half of the eighteenth century, and an innovator in the use of minute square and rectilinear tesserae, some as small as 3mm wide. Antonio Aguatti's skill at depicting animals may have evolved from Cesare Aguatti's mosaics of colorful creatures, such as those of 1784-1785 in the Borghese Palace.

Aguatti's studio was located at 96 Piazza di Spagna, an area where mosaic workshops were to proliferate as the nineteenth century progressed and a growing tourist class created a demand for micromosaic souvenirs. His atelier produced a broad spectrum of micromosaic objects.

Baron Charles Dupin, President of the French Jury sent to London's 1851 Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, wrote in his report: "From 1810 there were already in Rome twenty mosaicists in miniature: Antonio Aguatti was the most celebrated; he was the master of all the mosaicists engaged in the same industry today." (Moroni, 1906, pp 78-79; Baron Charles Dupin, Exposition Universelle de 1851: Travaux de la Commission francaise sur l'industrie des nations, 1854, p. 187).

On August 26, 1810, during the French occupation of Rome under Napoleon I, Antonio Aguatti was awarded a prize for miniature mosaics at the first Capitoline Exhibition of 'Roman Works of Art and Industry' (Giornale del Campidoglio, Rome, September 1810, no. 115, p. 412) After decades of success, Aguatti entered the employment of the Papal Treasury in 1829, and, from 1834 until his death in 1846, was professor of miniature mosaics at the Vatican Mosaic Workshop. In addition to being an acclaimed artist in the private sector, he is the acknowledged teacher of the mosaicists of his generation and of the generation that followed, including celebrated mosaicists such as Domenico and Luigi Moglia, Filippo Puglieschi, and Gioacchino and Michelangelo Barberi.

Today, Aguatti's micromosaics can be found in museums worldwide including the Museo Napoleonico in Rome, the Gilbert Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum and the Hermitage Museum. Despite his prolific output, relatively few signed pieces by Aguatti are known.  Sometimes he signed in tesserae on the lower border, other times he signed only one plaque on the back.

The current table is a predecessor to some later important tabletops produced by Aguatti with variations on the theme of Cupid in a chariot. Mosaics featuring Cupid in varying vehicles drawn by exotic creatures are often taken from the gouache paintings of the eighteenth century Italian artist Michelangelo Maestri. (d. 1812).  Maestri credits his images to Giulio Romano's (1499-1546) Renaissance frescoes after the antique, originally in the Salon of Villa Lante and now in the Palazzo Zuccari.  Images of these cupids were also published in 1804-1806 as a series of engravings by Francesco Piranesi (1758-1810) and Tommaso Piroli (1752-1824). 

Another version of the present tabletop, measuring 24 inches and titled Chariot of Love, was displayed in 1986 at Mosaici Minuti Romani, the first exhibition of micromosaics at the Vatican.  Unquestionably by Aguatti, its image differs in a few respects from the present table: the wreath lacks the four outer figural cartouches; smoke rises from the athenienne, and there are variations in the foliage. The tesserae depicting grass are laid out in a pattern, and the chariot's fabric is composed of large tesserae which do not convey the subtle drapery effect seen on the present tabletop. However, both tables display a great sense of naturalism and dimensionality, which is seen in curvilinear contours of Cupid's body. 

A gouache by Maestri, (sold at Sotheby's New York, 18 April 2008, lot 224) is a match for the central image on the table currently offered.  It depicts Cupid holding a laurel victory wreath and a palm frond while riding, triumphant, in a chariot carrying attributes of Roman gods and demigods defeated by Cupid.  The central scene is surrounded by an ivy border and four cartouches with depictions of Cupids in a variety of chariots and drawn by swans, butterflies, lions and tortoises, all after known works by Maestri.  

While maintaining the tradition of neoclassical subjects taken from antiquity, the mosaic of the present table exemplifies the newly emerging transition from square to curved, vari-shaped and multi-hued tesserae which Aguatti introduced toward the end of the eighteenth century. At the same time he accomplishes in this mosaic image the original intention of enamel mosaics: to replicate the realism and depth of perspective found in paintings. Upon close examination, Aguatti combines rectilinear with shaped and curved tesserae, some of multiple hues to create realistic grass and leaves, each blade and leaf depicted individually, not in repeated or stylized patterns.  Curved tesserae are used for Cupid's curling hair, the claws and fur of the three headed dog, Cerberus, and the griffin's talons. The quality and originality with which Aguatti utilizes his new methods distinguish his work from that of other mosaicists of his era and the romantic era which followed. 

Sotheby's is grateful to Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, honorary curator of the Gilbert Collection, Victoria & Albert Museum, London and author of Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection, for the compilation of this note.