A pair of Italian painted and parcel-gilt corner console tables attributed to Bartolomeo Manghetti, Turin, late 18th century

Roberto Antonetto, Il Mobile Piemontese nel Settecento, Turin, 2010, vol. II, p.224, nr. 31.

Comparative Literature:

G Ferraris, Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo e la scultura decorativa in legno a Torino nel periodo neoclassico (1770-1830), Turin, 1991, p. XXXIV, Tav. 35, plate XXXV, Tav. 36.

Ferraris illustrates op. cit., Tav. 35, p. XXXIV, a pair of white and gold armchairs with spirally twist legs terminating in foliage by Bartolomeo Manghetti, who was inspired by the work of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo. It is not inconceivable that perhaps these highly unusual and elegant corner consoles were made by the same maker as this set of seat furniture. Bartolomeo Manghetti is known to have been an exceptional carver who worked for the House of Savoy as well as other aristocratic patrons and the quality of his work is almost equal to that of his celebrated Master Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo. This tables are described by Antonetto as “invenzioni di sorprendente modernitá”, anticipating the Empire style (p.224).