A pair of Italian micro carved reliefs in carved gattice wood and giltwood frames, Bologna, late 17th/early 18th century

A. Gonzàlez-Palacios, Mobile in Liguria, Genova, 1996.

RELATED LITERATURE

E. Colle, Microintagli, Milano, 2001.

L. Bandera, Il mobile emiliano, Milano, 1972, p. 152, fig. 190

This pair of micro-carved reliefs is an extraordinary virtuosic example of the pinnacle of Italian sculpture and the production of astonishing works of art of high acclaim. This is one of the rare instances where the use of contrast, juxtaposition and the finest characteristics of various sculptural techniques are displayed and presented within their original sculptured Baroque frames.

The micro-carving in this pair of reliefs exemplifies an extremely precise and intricate virtuosic technique that involves meticulous work in a small and defined area. This process requires an extraordinary level of skill and attention to detail, creating a sense of marvel and appreciation for the work of art. Each carved oval scene at the centre of this composition displays a sophisticated quality of the micro-carving technique used to create pieces to evoke wonder, surprise and astonishment from the viewer, all of which are crucial ingredients of the most important Wunderkammer collection. It is therefore not by chance that the Wunderkammer Collection of Carlo III Farnese King of Naples (1716 - 1788) included five examples of micro-carved sculpture, which today are exhibited in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples and which are in every aspect very close to the present pair.

The present pair relate to the activity of the sculptor and carver, Antonio Bonini, active in Bologna from the end of the 17^th century to 1710. Three micro-carvings attributed to Bonini were included and officially listed in the Collection of the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna and described in the inventory of the Collection in 1795-1796. Similarities are evident with the micro-carvings already cited in the Collection of Carlo III Farnese. These compositions are also carved in gattice wood and framed with rich mouldings decorated with scrolled acanthus leaves, branches, flowers, with similar compositions to the reliefs published by Enrico Colle in Microintagli, Milano, 2001, fig. I, p. 36 and fig IV, p. 42.

The art of micro-carving is documented in the very early phase of this artistic development in Emilia. Giorgio Vasari described the virtuoso ability of Properzia de’ Rossi (1490 - 1530), who specialised in the micro-carving of unusual material such as the pip of the peach and cherry, see E. Colle, op. cit., p. 8, fig. 1. In Italy, at the time, the technique of micro-carving was particularly appreciated by the Grand Duke of Tuscany as well as by Francesco II D’Este, Duke of Modena (1660 - 1694). The Duke of Modena was gifted a carved panel by King James VI and II (1633 - 1701) of England, Scotland and Ireland which the King had commissioned from the Anglo-Dutch sculptor, Grinling Gibbons (1648 - 1721) in 1685. The Duke of Modena was the brother of King James’ second wife, Maria Beatrice D’Este (1658 - 1718) and this panel is now in in the Gallerie Estense in Modena (E. Colle, op. cit., pg. 14 fig 8).

The present micro-carved relief panels are framed by a carved giltwood frame boasting military trophies and playful marching putti and these are examples of some of the best and most flamboyant expressions of Baroque sculpture, where the naturalistic quality is rooted in the creation of the Baroque style by Bernini (1598 - 1680) in Rome and which influenced Filippo Parodi (1630 - 1702) in Genoa, Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652 - 1725) in Florence and Andrea Brustolon (1662 - 1732) in Venice. This is thus one of the rare cases where the micro-carvings are still within their original sculptural Baroque frames. Indeed, by the early 18th century, it became more common for such micro-carvings to be adorned by complex architectural frames aligned with the artistic style and dynamic spirit of the period.

The present works have been published by Alvar Gonzàlez-Palacios in Mobile in Liguria Genova, 1996, fig. 144, suggesting that the eagle may be a symbolic heraldic reference of the Doria family. 

The decorative elements used in these giltwood reliefs show a very close relationship with decorative motives used in Bologna in the late 17^th and early 18^th century, as for the example:

The spread eagle wings that appear in the micro-carving at the top of the subject of a Hunter in a Landscape (E. Colle, op. cit., p. 44, fig. V);

The monumental sculpture of a carved giltwood eagle supporting the bust of the general marsigli by Ottavio and Nicola Toselli, 1766, in the Accademia delle Scienze, Bologna;

At the centre of a project in the drawing of a handle in Fondazione Giorgio Cini (L'arte del Settecento Italiano, l’arredo sacro e profano, exh. cat., p. 113, fig. 58, no. 211);

Crowing the frame of the 17^th century mirror, Modena, (G. Manni, Mobili in Emilia, p. 242, fig.144).

Similar female faces of those shown in the apron of our pieces can be seen in the crowning element decorating the gilt-bronze gate designed by Alfonso Torreggiani (1682 – 1764) and made by Francesco Tibaldi 1743-1750 for the second chapel on the left, in the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna (L’arredo sacro e profano, op. cit., fig. 125).