The Ball Game, console
1788 - 1791. Gilt-bronze, Chalcedony, Lapis lazuli.Room 089
The table bears shells, fruit and flowers over ample lapis-lazuli borders. The central scene has a light chalcedony background and is framed by a garland with an asymmetrical rocaille. The scene of ball players with various figures chatting in a landscape with classical architecture—the basalt lion from the Capitolino and the pyramid of Cestius, both in Rome—is taken from models that Giuseppe Zocchi made in 1748 and 1765 for the Emperor, Grand Duke Francis I of Tuscany. This table and its pair (O456) date from 1788 and were the last to be made at the Royal Laboratory of El Retiro. Although they still have many baroque and rococo elements they make certain concessions to neoclassicism. Both splendidly exemplify Charles III’s taste and their excellent quality makes them masterpieces of the European decorative arts, with unmistakably original characteristics. The bronze base dates from between 1791 and 1796 and is thus later than the tabletop. The skirting’s central cartouche shows Spanish heraldic figures such as the lion and tower (Text from González-Palacios, A.: Las colecciones reales españolas de mosaicos y piedras duras, 2001, pp. 184- 187; Gisbert, M.I., Goya y la pintura española del siglo XVIII, 2000, pp. 77-80).
