CIRCA 1775, MINOR DIFFERENCES IN CARVING AND CONSTRUCTION, ONE TABLE POSSIBLY OF A LATER DATE

With their pronounced architectural lines, sculptural legs, finely-carved applied decoration to the frieze and central tablets, these console tables typify the Italian Neoclassical style, particularly that developed in Florence and Rome. Centering aprons, friezes and seat rails with tablets including relief carving was a very popular decorative feature of Italian furniture-makers during the last third of the eighteenth century. This fashion was popularized by the most important draughtmen and craftsmen of the time, such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Antonio Landucci, and Nicola Freddi, whose console tables incorporating central tablets centering a carved frieze are illustrated S. E. Lawrence, Piranesi as Designer, New York, 2007, pp. 238 and 239, respectively. The inclusion of marble and hardstone within the tablets of our tables further point to Florence and Rome as the probable places of manufacture of these consoles as both cities had had a long and rich history of lapidary work. The faux porphyry decoration, which further adds to the richness of these tables as it is juxtaposed against the sumptuous gilding, is another indication that the consoles were commissioned by someone with a great appreciation for the antique and the art of lapidary work.