Luigi and Angiolo Falcini active first half 19th century A FINE AND RARE ITALIAN EBONY, IVORY AND ENGRAVED FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY CENTER TABLE Campi, circa 1845

fitted with a long frieze drawer, the faux-fluted legs with brass collars and ball feet, joined by an interlocked X-shaped stretcher, the top, frieze and stretcher profusely decorated with scrolled acanthus foliage, game birds, butterflies, Renaissance masks and fantastical beasts, with a paper label printed Archer, Crowley & Co. / DEPOSITORY / No. 49

Simone Chiarugi, Botteghe di Mobilieri in Toscana 1780-1900, Firenze, 1994, pp. 194-197
Alvar Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Tempio del Gusto, La Toscana e l'Italia Settentrionale, Vol. I pp. 179
Cladio Paolini, Alessandra Ponte, Ornella Selvafolte, Il Bello Ritrovato, Novara 1990, pp. 226

Overall in good condition. With the usual minor scratches and dents consistent with age and use.
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.

The present center table is indisputably one of the most important examples of the detailed naturalistic marquetry popularised by the Florentine brothers Luigi and Angiolo Falcini (fl. 1836-69) in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.  The Falcini brothers were active in Florence as celebrated restorers and creators of Renaissance and baroque marquetry.  Whilst Lombardy enjoyed the success in the late eighteenth century of makers such as Maggiolini and Maffezzoli, the Florentine output of inlaid furniture had almost certainly ceased since Leonardo van der Vinne was active in the early seventeenth century.  The Falcini brothers revitalised this technique in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.  They appear to have specialized in the production of octagonal tables with mother of pearl and stained fruitwood.

They were known for their elegant designs inspired by the Renaissance and their superbly executed inlaid work that reflected the work of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure with its flowers, foliage and birds.  They supplied an octagonal table to Leopold II, Granduke of Tuscany, in 1839 and exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 to great acclaim.

A direct source of interest of the Falcini brothers was the famous table attributed to the Flemish cabinet maker Leonardo Van der Vinne (died in 1713) and made for the Medici family, which is now in the collections of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence and was already in the collections of the Accademia delle Belle Arti in the Nineteenth Century. There are three known table copies attributed to the Falcini brothers which are very close to the Baroque model. One is now at the National Gallery of Ottawa, one is in the Institute of Fine Arts in Detroit and the third is this table. They are all very similar in their intarsia work as well as their constructural details. One of the table tops was most likely mentioned in the record of the 1844 Esposizione di Firenze:...una tavola a intarsio copiato da una simile esistente nell' I.R.Accademia di Belle Arti...And one table was mentioned as being by the Falcini brothers in the catalogue of the Mostra Cittadina of 1847: The Falcini's presented...un piano di una tavola copiato da un capolavoro antico esistente nella Galleria dell'Accademia delle Bella Arti, appartenuto gia alla famiglia medicea...