Anónimo italiano, h. 1850-1900
Wood and bone casket, c. 1850-1900

Wood and bone casket, c. 1850-1900

Chest. Ebony and bone marquetry. Italy, second half of the 19th century.

Rectangular chest with a trough-shaped lid made of ebony with bone and ebonised wood marquetry, with a root-wood interior combined with black moulding on the lid. The exterior has a series of plain mouldings arranged horizontally and marquetry panels on the front, sides, back and flat areas of the lid with plain bands and vegetal, architectural, animal and grotesque motifs with a clear Classicist influence, as well as interlaced and underneath the lid.

The initials G and C on the upper part of the lid are interlaced under a crown.

Stylistically, it is reminiscent of works from Tuscany and northern Italy, inspired by Renaissance designs and made of ebony, ivory and various woods using the marquetry technique. They compare in particular with works by Giovanni Battista Gatti (Faenza, 1816 - Rome, 1889) held in various private collections and in institutions such as the Pinacoteca of Faenza (Italy) and the Gatti Museum. This tendency to return to Renaissance taste was established, above all, from the 1840s onwards and particularly in Tuscany (with the primacy of the workshops of Florence and Siena), with the use of combined dark woods, coloured stones, ivory and mother-of-pearl as the main elements.

Measurements: 24.5 x 16.5 x 11 cm.