Centrepiece by Rome’s Leading 17th/18th Century Goldsmith Expected to Sell for up to £300,000 at Sloane Street Auctions
Centrepiece - The centerpiece attributed to Giovanni Giardini that is expected to sell for up to £300,000 at Sloane Street Auctions on March 12.
The 17½in (44.5cm) high by 32½in (82.5cm) wide silver, silver-gilt and malachite piece dates to around 1720, and is considered the work of Giovanni Giardini (1646-1722), the great Italian architect and designer best known for his elaborate metalwork designs, culminating in his appointment as the Vatican’s chief metalworker in 1698.Oval in shape and standing on four openwork scroll feet, its elaborate design is typical of Giardini. The border is applied with shells, scrolls and foliage in the baroque style and it has six detachable winged putti. The base is formed from segments of polished malachite, and sits above a detachable openwork frame incorporating foliate scrolls, shells, scaly dolphins, goats’ masks and applied parcel-gilt vacant cartouches. That is surmounted by the figure of Bacchus wearing a lion pelt, playing pipes and seated on a malachite rock, the underside of the frame applied with pendant fish and waterleaves.
Consigned from a private collection, it last appeared at auction more than 30 years ago, when Christie’s sold items from the collection at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, the Palladian home of Britain’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole
Link to commission from CardinalThe mark on the border is recorded in C. Bulgari’s Argentieri Gemmari E Orafi D'Italia, as also appearing on a silver and malachite cross and pair of altar candlesticks by Giovanni Giardini made for Cardinal Francesco Barberini. It is possible the piece was marked sometime after creation.Born at Forli on 24 June 1646 Giardini was apprenticed to Marco Gamberucci in 1665, who had recently been appointed ‘Argentieri di Nostro Signore’ and supplied silver to the Vatican and Cardinal Barberini. In 1676 Giardini took over his master’s workshop and continued to supply important commissions for the nobility and the church including a silver ‘death’ mask to cover the face of Queen Christina while lying in state in April 1689.Although several of his ecclesiastical works survive, including a papal mace of about 1696, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and an altar set of silver and malachite, now in private collection, few secular pieces survive, principally because of the number of works destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars.His mark and even his signature appear on most of his known surviving pieces, but unmarked pieces are known, in particular a holy water stoup attributed to him now in the Art Institute of Minneapolis, made of silver, gilt-bronze and lapis-lazuli. It shows his command of the baroque style and the sculptural qualities of his work. Added to which it illustrates his love of combining precious metal with hardstone, as with the present lot.In 1702 Giardini bought a large vineyard at Tor di Quinto and the inventory made after his death reveals a man of considerable wealth. It is likely that he influenced the work of Thomas Germain, who began his career in Rome whilst Giardini was at the height of his career.
“Giardini was without doubt one of the leading European goldsmiths working during the late baroque period and a great influence on the first generation of great rococo exponents such as Germain,” said Sloane Street Auctions’ owner, Daniel Hunt.
“This extraordinary and impressive centerpiece is more than worthy of its attribution. Not only is it historic and dating to one of the greatest ages of artistic invention, but it is also a modern-day interior decorator’s dream – the perfect conversation piece to create a unique setting.”
• The auction also includes a major work attributed to great master cabinetmakers of the Regency period, George Bullock (1777-1818), a malachite inlaid Buhl table that is thought to have been a commission for the Duke of Buccleuch. It is expected to fetch £60,000-80,000.
“These sort of pieces would have been a natural fit for Christie’s South Kensington in its day, but now that has gone, we find that consignors tend to come to us, so we are delighted to play our part in keeping this tradition of higher end works coming to London beyond the confines of Bond Street and St James,” said Daniel Hunt. “It is also a happy coincidence that our auctioneer, Hugh Edmeades, was Christie’s South Kensington’s former chairman.”
Live online bidding is available via Sloane Street Auctions’ website at www.sloanestreetauctions.com
About Sloane Street Auctions
Sloane Street Auctions was founded by Mr Daniel Hunt after spending over 30 years as a high-profile gallery owner and dealer, based at his galleries in Lower Sloane Street, London. Daniel Hunt’s intimate knowledge of the upper tiers of the art and antique sectors throughout millennia, from BC to 2022, provides Sloane Street Auctions with unprecedented access to private collections worldwide and the best of access to specific expertise.
Sloane Street Auctions’ primary objective is to work with both our buyers and sellers to provide the art market access to the rarest objects and art - from Classical Antiquities, Icons and Old Masters, right through to the YBAs and beyond.
Sloane Street Auctions takes great pleasure in dealing with people. We aim to provide a seamless and pleasant service, whether buying or selling. Our vision is to unearth the world’s greatest treasures and to match them with the world’s greatest collectors, whether an occasional buyer or a seasoned connoisseur. Sloane Street Auctions prides itself in providing the highest level of client service and discretion.
With Daniel’s contacts spanning over 40 countries worldwide, accumulated over a lifetime in the industry, Sloane Street Auctions empowers our community of connoisseurs and collectors to acquire and consign the greatest of fine art and objects at a highly competitive rate.
With Daniel Hunt’s expertise in curating some of the most renowned private collections worldwide, Sloane Street Auctions has the ability to source a wide variety of extraordinary pieces. Sloane Street Auctions’ concentrates on, but is not limited to, Old Master Drawings and Paintings, European Furniture and Works of Art, Impressionist Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography and Private Sales.
Julia Macquisten
Lucas Field Media
+44 7968 952850
info@lucasfieldmedia.com
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
