A set of four Italian carved giltwood one-light wall-appliques, Turin, circa 1790, circle of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820)

R. Antonetto, Il mobile piemontese nel Settecento, Turin, 2010, p. 370

Genio and Maestria. Mobili ed ebanisti alla corte sabauda tra Settecento e Ottocento, catalogue de l’exposition, Reggia di Venaria, 2018, p. 257.

RELATED LITERATURE

N. Gabrielli (a cura di), Museo dell’arredamento / Stupinigi la Palazzina di Caccia, Turin 1966, pl. n. 89, 183.

A. Pedrini, Il mobilio - Gli ambienti e le decorazioni nei secoli XVII e XVIII in Piemonte, Turin, 1967, p.91.

G. Ferraris, Giuseppe Bonzanigo e la scultura decorativa in legno a Torino nel periodo neoclassico (1770-1830), Cavallermaggiore (CN) 1991, pp. 81, 123.

Genio e Maestria. Mobili ed ebanisti alla corte sabauda tra Settecento e Ottocento, Reggia di Venaria, 2018.

The design and quality of these sumptuous wall-appliques clearly relate to the work of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820), the renowned Piedmontese sculptor, carver, and cabinet maker whose creations epitomise the neoclassical style in Turin. From the distinctive lyre-shape with intertwined laurel leaves to the radiant face above, these wall-appliques could well symbolise musical excellence and make reference to Apollo, god of the Sun and an esteemed lyre player in Ancient Greek and Roman mythology. 

Four similar two-light wall-appliques, attributed to Bonzanigo, can be found in the Galleria di Levante at the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (illustrated in R. Antonetto's Il mobile piemontese nel Settecento, Torino 2010, p.370, nr.27.a), while another four are located in the Prince of Carignano's apartments within the same palace (illustrated in G. Ferraris' Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo, 1991, p.81, LIV). One pair of these appliques likely corresponds to a description in an archival document dated from 13th August 1789, transcribed by art historian Giancarlo Ferraris, which details: “quattro plache in forma di cetera ornate, e arricchite con ghirlande di fiori, e rami d’alloro” (in G. Ferraris, op.cit., p.52).

These wall appliques reflect the vocabulary of ornament employed by Bonzanigo, notably motifs like the sunburst-encircled head and the lyre shape. A lyre surmounted by a radiant head can be seen on the window shutters of the Duke of Aosta's parade bedroom in the Royal Palace of Turin. Additionally, this motif appears on the lower half of Bonzanigo’s renowned white and blue carved cabinet, preserved in the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (illustrated in G. Ferraris, op.cit., p.123 and pl.XXVIII).

Since the carving does not exactly align with Bonzanigo’s known works, it is likely that the present set were executed by a craftsman from his entourage, such as Giuseppe Marchino or Antonio Artero, both of whom worked closely with him.