An Italian ivory and wood "microscultura" relief of Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (1773–1832), Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820) and workshop, circa 1815-1820, Turin

Inscribed MARIA TERESA REG. DI SARD. and A ONOR DE'GRANDI ETERNA ALZAR MEMORIA / DEL BEL GENIO DELL'ARTI ECCELSA È GLORIA

Overall some small restorations (some traces of glue) and losses throughout, particularly in border area. Some very minor loose details. Small re-gluing of some flower heads on altar cloth. Left five figures of dancing nymphs below the altar are dettached. Some losses to lettering. Some cracks to proper left wing and drapery to angel. Minor wear to frame. Otherwise overall good condition and very find quality.
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This exquisitely carved ivory and wood relief celebrates the artistic patronage of Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia, and is a rare example of the astonishing craftsmanship that earned Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo such great favor among his royal patrons.  No doubt carved under magnification, the miniscule details in the wreath of flowers, the trophies representing allegories of the arts, the crown interlaced with a rose branch, and the cameo portrait of Maria Theresa exhibit a level of fineness and precision rarely seen in sculpture of any period.  For a similar portrait of the sitter see Bertolotto, op. cit., p. 48, fig. 16.

Born Archduchess of Austria and Princess of Modena, Maria Theresa  married the 29-year-old Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Aosta, future King Victor Emmanuel I, on April 25, 1789.  She became Queen consort after the abdication of Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia in 1802; she was forced to remain on the island of Sardinia until the end of the war in 1814 when she returned to an enthusiastic reception at the capital Turin.  Her reign was not without controversy, however, and her husband abdicated to his brother, Charles Felix, in 1821.

Born in Asti in 1745, Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo settled in Turin in 1773. The following year he was elected to the Compagnia of San Luca. He worked for the Savoy Court for the next twenty years as a sculptor, wood-carver and cabinet-maker.  In 1787, he was appointed official wood-carver to Victor Amadeus III, King of Savoy and remained in the position until the French invasion in 1796.  In the accounts of the royal family he is recorded as having supplied numerous stools, chairs, armchairs, benches, sofas, screens, beds and mirrors as well as many ornamental panels and chests of drawers for the Royal Palace in Turin and for the royal residences at Moncalieri, Rivoli, Stupinigi, Venaria.  His reputation grew in no small part due to the extraordinary quality of his wood carvings in light wood and ivory, the so-called `microsculture' which were highly sought after.  In 1815, with the fall of Napoleon and the return of the Savoy family, he was re-instated as royal sculptor. His justly deserved reputation was such that on his death in 1820, the Gazetta Piemontese wrote "la bell'arte dell'intaglio ad altissimo grado di perfezione con quarant'anni di assidue cure..."

RELATED LITERATURE

C. Bertolotto, et. al., Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo: intaglio minuto e grande decorazione, (exh. cat) Pinacoteca civica, Asti, 1989
G. Ferraris, Giuseppe Bonzanigo e la scultura decorativa in legno a Torino nel periodo neoclassico (1770-1830), Turin, 1991