Guiseppe Montelatici Italian, Active second half 19th Century An important florentine pietra dure circular table Italy, second half 19th century

set on a tripartite carved stained wood base with dolphins and fruit garlands, paper label reading GUISEPPE MONTELATICI / FABBRICANTE DI MOSAICEE DI FIRENZE / 7 Lung Arno Corsini 7, to the underside of marble top

Sold Christie's New York, October 31, 1990, lot 289

Annamaria Giusti, Splendori di Pietre Dure: L’arte di Corte nella Firenze dei granduchi, Florence, Giunti, 1988
Annamaria Giusti, Pietre Dure: Hardstone in furniture and decorations, London, Philip Wilson, 1992
John Murray, A Handbook for Travellers in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, London, 1871
John Murray, A Handbook for Travellers in North Wales, London, 1872

Overall in good condition and grand presentation. The carved wooden base with visible restoration and over paint with some minor losses to the noses of the dolphins. Losses to the frettework circular frieze. Unlike the catalogue illustration, please note that the top show scratches and discoloration consistent with placing objects on it, and liquid damage. The top will need to be professionally sanded in order to restore the table top to perfect condition, and as a result the scratches and stains will disappear.
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.

Richly inlaid with stones such as Russian Lapis Lazulis and Volterra chalcedony , this table carries the label of Giuseppe Montelatici, whom new research reveals to be a major pietre dure artist of his time, producing tables, cabinets, caskets, and jewelry. Giuseppe first appears with the Florentine mosaic firm Montelatici Brothers, which displayed his table at the 1862 London International Exhibition. His split from them ten years later is revealed by advertisements changed between 1871 and 1872 in Murray’s Handbooks. The 1871 ad reads: “Montelatici Brothers” at “12 Lung’Arno Nuovo” Florence ... branch opposite the Hotel d’Angleterre in Baden Baden. The ad format is identical in 1872, but the firm’s name is “G. Montelatici” with a Florence address at “7 Lung’Arno Corsini” (Murray 1871, p. 60; 1872, p. 28). A label on a table dating after 1889 gives the Baden Baden street address as “Sophien Strasse No. 4, Maison Reichert,” and adds to his wares “Sculture in Marmi e Alabastri” (Christie’s, London, 9 June 1988, Lot 140). Montelatici’s fame increased as his works were displayed at major International Exhibitions, among them: Philadelphia, 1876; Paris, 1878; Melbourne, 1880; Foreign Exhibition in Boston, 1883; Paris, 1889; Chicago, 1893; and St. Louis, 1904.

The present tabletop demonstrates a mastery of pietre dure, an art perfected in the Medici workshop founded in 1588. Its rarely seen device of butterflies and birds scattered over an open ground reflects the naturalism originating in two important tabletops made in the Grand Ducal workshops: a table of 1610 from the collection of Louis XIV displays birds and butterflies in flight (Jardin des Plantes, Paris); and butterflies are dispersed across a 1765 tabletop titled “Air” at the Louvre Museum (Giusti, 1992, p. 193, pl. 103; p. 115, pl. 55). The use of bouquets and white roses has precedents in oval floral medallions, a wedding gift from Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany to Anatole Demidoff (Museo Stibbert), and a tabletop wreath of white roses (Museo dell’Opificio), all designed by Giovan Battista Giorgi (active 1815-51), Artistic Director of the Galleria dei Lavori (Giusti, 1992, pl. 68; Giusti 1988, no. 66).

Sotheby's is grateful to Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel for her compilation of this scholarly footnote.