A pair of Italian tortoiseshell, ebony veneered and ebonised cabinets, Sicilian late 17th/early 18th century and later

each of architectural form, with a later gilt-bronze balustraded gallery with baluster urn finials above an architectural niche flanked by two pairs of columns opening to reveal a fitted interior flanked on either side by four panelled drawers, the later stand with a panelled frieze on square tapering legs joined by a shelf on inverted pad feet

By repute originally in teh Collection of Principessa De Spucches, Palermo

In overall good conserved condition. Rare to have a pair. They can be placed immediately. Good princely provenance. Highly recommended. Cabinets: The gilt-brass finials are slightly dirty and worn and would benefit from a clean. There are some very minor sections of ripple-cut moulding missing on both which are hardly noticeable and can be left or easily restored. Some very minor chips and scratches comensurate with age and use. Evidence of a previous fixing - probably a sculpture - in the niches of both. Some very minor restorations to the veneer which has been well executed. On one cabinet the cover to the lock internally needs re-pinning and a small handle on an internal drawer is missing. There are some hairline cracks in the veneer on the sides comensurate with age and use but these can be left. The Stands: On one there are some horizontal cracks to the top and losses to the veneer which will need attention. On the other one there are cracks in the stretcher which will need filling and some minor losses to the veneer and scuffing. They would benefit from some minor attention.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature:
Mario Giarrizzo and Aldo Rotolo, Mobili e Mobilieri nella Sicilia del Settecento, Palermo, 1992, p. 66, fig. 3.
Vincenzo Abbate, Wunderkammer Siciliana alle origini del museo perduto, Naples, 2001, pp. 91-92 and 96-97.

This pair of cabinets are rare in that the other known recorded examples seem to be similar to each other but none of them would appear to have been conceived as a pair. There are two related cabinets of almost identical form to the present pair in the Galleria Regionale of Sicily, originally in the De Ciccio collection, Naples, illustrated by Abbate, op. cit.,  pp. 91 and 92, figs I. 4a and b.

The two published cabinets were not originally conceived as a pair but were probably acquired by the same collector who commissioned an identical base for each of them, as on the present pair. The cabinets were made between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the following century. The differences in the published cabinets with the present pair is due to the fact that one has a sculptor in the niche depicting a bishop, the other a putto, which are lacking on the present pair. Other examples of this type of cabinet are recorded; one in the collection of the duca Lombardo di Cumia, Naples and another in the Museum of Applied Arts in Milan.

This particular technique of veneering furniture in tortoiseshell was popular since 1640 and employed by German, Flemish and French cabinet-makers. In the second half of the 17th century, France was major centre for the production of tortoiseshell furniture: the cabinet-maker André-Charles Boulle introduced the practice of inlaying brass, ivory and rare woods in tortoiseshell veneer. Tortoiseshell furniture was recorded in Naples since 1646: in 1663, two cabinets similar to those formerly in the De Ciccio collection were sold in Naples.