An Italian Antique marble table top, second half 16th/early 17thcentury

of square form, in carrara marble centred by a square of marmo giuggiolato within a border of breccia quintillina, bianco e nero di Aquitania, alabastro antico within a further border of brocatello di spagna

Farnese Family, Duchy of Parma, Italy

In overall good conserved condition and could be placed immediately. The expertise is from one of the best experts in the field Gnoli who has written books on the subject. The colour overall is slightly lighter with more contrast of colours and more attractive than in the catalogue photograph. Old minor marks and scattered small chips and scratches generally and some medium chips around the edge of the white marble border as visible in the catalogue photograph commensurate with age and normal usage. Some discoloration on the sides of the white marble border of the top due to water marks and on one side of the white marble border there are some dark scratches probably from when the top was inset in a base. There is a 6cm long L-shaped minor restoration to the white marble border of one corner showing the glue which could be cleaned up and another L-shaped one to the opposite corner. There is a small section of brocatello missing from same side approx 4cm long which has some infill (visible in the top right corner of the photograph). There is a circular water mark in the centre as visible in the catalogue photograph which can be repolished. There is an old break in the white marble border at the side which has been repaired leading to a couple of very minor chips which would benefit from some infill.
"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:
R. Gnoli, Marmora Romana, Rome, Edizioni dell'Elefante,1971 (II ed. 1988).
L'Opera di Agostino del Riccio, Istoria delle pietre, e stata da me edita e commentata in Agostino del Riccio (curated by Raniero Gnoli and Attilia Sironi), Turin, Allemandi, 1996.
La citazione dal Jestaz e stata tratta Bertrand Jestaz, Le decor mobilier, la sculpture moderne et les objets d'art du Palais Farnèse, Rome, Ecole Française, 1981, p. 399.

This table top is inlaid with Antique marbles with the exception of  the central section which is made of  a large square of `marmo giuggiolato’. This rare marble comes from the Apuane Alps and started to be used from the 16^thcentury onwards as mentioned by Agostino del Riccio (LXI), who said that balls and tables were made from it (illustrated 36). Slabs of this type of marble can be seen in other works in Florence, for example, in the Cappella Gaddi at Santa Maria Novella. It can also be found in Rome, together with other rare marbles, in the floor of a room in Palazzo Rondanini al Corso.

On the present table top, the square is surrounded by a band in bianco e nero di Aquitania marble intercepted by ovals of breccia quintilina outlined in marmo bianco  and emphasised  by little inlays of rosso antico. At the angles of the borders are four cartouches of alabstro antico. The large external border is inlaid with brocatello di spagna  with a stylised Greek key motif in white marble.

This Antique marble top with its simple design brings to mind other recorded marble tops from the Farnese collection (those at  Palazzo Farnese and generally of square form), was described expertly by Jestaz ,`It is there, the Roman type (of table top) of the 16^th century, more simple but more rigorous than the style popularised in the 17^th century by the Opificio delle pietre dure in Florence’. The presence on this Roman top of a type of marble, used especially in Florence, should not surprise us, as there was a continuous exchange of marbles between the two cities. Its sufficient to think, for example, of  the rare marble occhio di pernice, also originating from the Apuane Alps which is found in various Roman churches (amongst others in the  altar maggiore of San Lorenzo in Lucina) and erroneously considered by Faustino Corsi to be an antique marble. The same can be said for the breccia gialla e nera and for the bianco e nero di carrara and others aswell. This top, like other Farnesian tops, ends simply with a white marble border and was probably destined to be inset into a wooden frame. This marble top, in my opinion originates from a Roman workshop from the second half of the 16^th century, or at the very latest the beginning of the 17^th century.

We would like to thank Raniero Gnoli, for the above note, dated February 2012, a copy of which in Italian is available from the department upon request.

Finally it is worthwhile comparing this top with another Roman tavolo a commesso, circa 1560, in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, reproduced by Annamaria Giusti, Eternità e  nobiltà di materia, Florence, 2003, p. 171,  fig.2, reproduced here in fig .1.