Semiprecious-stone table
1749 - 1763. Agate, Gilt-bronze, Chalcedony, Ebony wood, Jasper, Lapis lazuli, Paragone.Not on display
The touchstone top is inlaid with semiprecious stones and has molded corners and a lapis-lazuli border. The inlay is of flowers and fruits with birds, insects and volutes, all created with various types of jasper, lapis lazuli, chalcedony and agate. The supports are flanked by gilded bronze cartouches with grotesque faces and are shaped like horse hooves. They are adorned with lapis-lazuli plaques. Under the top, gilded festoons join semiprecious-stone cartouches with bronze frames to the female heads that adorn the corners. These heads symbolize the four seasons and were sculpted by Giovanni Morghen. The table’s structure is of ebony and was crafted by Gaspero Donnini, who became director of the Royal Laboratory after Ghinghi died. Lluigi Poggetti’s appraisal of the queen’s quarters at the Royal Palace in 1794 indicate that this table and its companion were there at that time. Francesco Ghinghi’s letter of April 24, 1753 to Anton Francesco Gori confirms that after two tables (O00511 and O00512) were completed, the king commissioned another pair, one of which is presented here (O00466 and O00467). Made in Naples at the Real Laboratorio delle Pietre Dure between 1749 and 1763, it dates from the time when Francesco Ghinghi directed that factory, and he himself may have made the drawing and model for all of the non-figurative bronzes on both tables. According to a memo from 1749, the bronzes were cast by Ceci (Text from González-Palacios, A.: Las colecciones reales españolas de mosaicos y piedras duras, 2001, pp. 146-151).