A PAIR OF ITALIAN PIQUÉ-WORK MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND GOLD INLAID TORTOISESHELL DISHES Naples, circa 1740

each of oval scalloped outline, with broad gadrooned border and central panel; one decorated with an elderly man on a donkey with children and palm trees on a trellis ground, surrounded by a frieze of figures with dogs, Indian masks, each section of the border decorated with alternating figures of monkeys, putti and children in trellis ground cartouches; the second dish with central panel with horse cart carrying a haystack with a man lying on top and a drunken man and a dog running by its side, surrounded by a frieze with sections with alternating cherubs, dogs and rural figures on foliated cartouches on a trellis ground, some very minor losses

Sotheby's Geneva, 14th May 1987, lot 125;

Acquired at the above by the present owner, European Private Collection.

RELATED LITERATURE

Geoffrey de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Clocks and Bronzes, Fribourg: Office du Livre, 1974;

H. C. Dent, Piquè: a beautiful minor art, London, The Connoisseur, 1923.

These exquisite dishes are both in overall good conserved condition. It is rare to have a pair of tehse dishes with such finesse to the inlay. Approximately 95% of the inlay is in original condition with some very minor restorations generally to the inlays. The dish with the carriage has very minor chips to edge of central lower gadroon as visible from the catalogue photograph and very minor repairs to top edge only visible from the back. There are some very minor losses to gold foliage around the central panel which are visible in the catalogue photograph. Dish with donkey has two minor hairline cracks to the left hand side as visible in the photograph. There are minor losses to the mother of pearl inlay to central left gadroon as visible in the photograph. There is a small crack to right hand side and very minor loss to donkey's leg. Both have small old labels to back.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The designs and sources of inspiration

These two exquisite dishes were clearly produced in the same workshop as complementary to each other, and their decoration is Berainesque in spirit. Nevertheless, they differ in their designs and themes with one having a more Oriental feel, depicting alternating monkeys and children inserted in trellis cartouches on the scalloped frieze. The central scene, with an elderly man sitting backwards on a donkey, being pulled by two children and placed in a landscape with palm trees, is inspired by Johan Nieuhof’s prints published after his journey through China (Die Gesantschaft der Ost-Indischen Geselschaft (…), Amsterdam, 1666). It could refer to Zhang Gua Lao, one of the Eight Immortals, who did ride a donkey backwards.

The second dish is more pastoral in tone, with figures of men and women in rural activities – sewing, chopping wood, carrying hay, etc. These figures are above stylised scrollwork brackets and alternate with figures of cherubs and dogs on cartouches with trellis ground done in delicate piqué point. The central scene depicts a two horse cart carrying a big haystack with a man lying on top and a drunken man and a dog running by its side.

The scalloped outline resembles 17^th century silver and 18^th century ceramic models and its use on these trays seem to be unique in this technique. This shape allows having individual motifs inlaid in each segment enhancing the light-hearted and relaxed spirit they both share, very appropriate for the gout pitoresque spreading then across Europe. They embody two currents of this taste, one inspired by the unusual and exotic, represented here by the chinoiseries and singeries, and the other closer to nature and peasant ways, drawing from the idealism of the natural life. 

The technique

Technically, they are a tour de force of piqué work. This technique as such is reputed to have originated in Naples as early as the end of the 16^th century and was later refined and developed by the Neapolitan jeweller and silversmith Laurenzini in the mid 17th century. Its popularity soon spread to Northern Europe, although Naples continued to be one of the main centres for this type of work throughout the 18^th century. The piqué technique consisted of softening the tortoiseshell in boiling water and olive oil and then impressing the design in mother of pearl or strip of gold or silver while the ground material was still at a high temperature. This process was carried out in the total absence of any glue and therefore required very skilled artisans. This technique has been fully described for the first time in Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopedie (Piquer de tabatieres, incrusteur et brodeur). The pricking process (piquer) can be differentiated in four different techniques:

- piqué point-d’or, by creating minuscule holes subsequently filled with melted gold or silver, forming therefore a design made of several little dots;

- piqué coulé, by using the same metals to fill in linear engravings;

- piqué incrusté, by using small decorations of mother pearl or gold, previously prepared, into the softened tortoiseshell;

- piqué brodé or posé, by combining all the three techniques together.

Works of art produced in the piqué posé technique, such as the present lot, were the most sought after and expensive and it was during the first half of the 18^th century that Neapolitan artisans seem to achieve the most extraordinary results.

There is still relatively scarce information on the names and the activities of these craftsmen (tartarugari) as most of the Neapolitan archives have not survived, but certainly the most important workshop remains the one of the Sarao family (father and son), whose activity is recorded alongside that of such other craftsmen as Antonio de Laurentis, Nicola de Turris and Nicola Starace.

The taste for piqué work

Piqué pieces were sought after by British Grand Tourists such as Robert Adam who purchased in Naples three 'very handsome snuff-boxes of yellow and black tortoise-shell studded with gold...' in the occasion of his visit in 1755 (J. Fleming, Robert Adam and his Circle, London, 1962, p. 157). In 1771, Lady Anne Miller (Letters from Italy, London, 1776, vol. III, pp. 243-244) mentions a comb she bought while visiting Naples: "this city is famous for a manufacture in tortoiseshell, which they inlay curiously with gold, and are very ingenious at representing any object you choose. I have had a comb made for my chignon incrusted with gold, to imitate an Etruscan border, copied from an antique vase, which is so well done, that we have bespoke several other articles..."

These delicate works of art have always been highly prized and the second half of 19^thcentury saw a re-birth of its collecting with the formation of collections by several members of the Rothschild family, such as Baron Mayer Amschel at Mentmore or Baron Ferdinand at Waddesdon. Geoffrey de Bellaigue studied the latter group (Bellaigue, vol. II, p.827 -844) where he also mentions the collection of 'picay' work done by Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Single tortoiseshell dishes in this technique occasionally appear on the market, as one with serpentine shape  in Sotheby's New York, 27 January 2011, lot 480 ($122,500) and other from the collections of Viscounts Bearsted, Christie's London, 5th December 2013, lot 49 (£55,000). An oval tray was sold in Paris, 9th October 2013, lot 178 with Artcurial for €200,066. It needs to be noted that it is extremely rare to find a pair of piqué dishes, and even rarer to encounter the quality of the present lot.