An Italian carved boxwood and fruitwood frame, by Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo, Turin circa 1790

with a stepped cavetto shaped box frame, the finely carved decoration conceived as a series of borders, the outer with a repeating leaf motif and each corner with paterae a further border with reel an disc motifs another complex guilloche repeated rosette and foliate embellished border and the corners with classical masks and Greek letters with an inner border of minutely carved balls, flowerheads and discs, on a black ground, with an inscribed ivorine label applied to the reverse Cowdray, 1919, 149

Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray (1856-1927), at Cowdray Park, Sussex;
Lady Anne Cowdray (1913-2009) 1st wife of John Pearson, 3rd Viscount Cowdray (1910-1995), at Broadleas House, Wiltshire;

In overall very good original condition. The colour overall is less orange and more natural and much more attractive than in the catalogue photograph. The microsculture which is exquisitely carved is in exceptional condition. There is very minor old woodworm to the outer frame which appears to be no longer active and is not too noticeable.
"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."

Comparative Literature:
Claudio Bertolotto and Vittoria Villani, (eds.), 'Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo: Intaglio minuto e grande decorazione', Exhibition Catalogue, Venaria, 1989;
Giancarlo Ferraris, Giuseppe Bonzanigo e la scultura decorativa in legno a Torino nel periodo neoclassico (1770-1830), Turin, 1991;
Franca Dalmasso and Claudio Bertolotto, Plamieri in cornici di Bonzanigo, in Antologia di belle Arti, Il Neoclassicismo, III, Turin, 1992, pp. 80-84.

This exquisitely carved and beautifully preserved wooden frame together with the following pair (lot 34) represent the astonishing craftsmanship that earned Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo such great favour among his royal patrons. No doubt carved under magnification, the miniscule details in the wreath of flowers, foliage and garlands as well as the rosettes are typical of Bonzanigo's oeuvre and exhibit a level of finesse and precision rarely seen in sculpture of any period. 
A number of related micro-carvings and frames by him can be found, including an intriguing relief-carved self-portrait of circa 1795 (illustrated in Bertolotto/Villani, op.cit., p. 32 and reproduced here in fig. 1) and a portrait relief of Napoleon Bonaparte, sold Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 27th March 2007, lot 1208 for €108,000. Another similar micro-carved boxwood frame attributed to Bonzanigo was sold Christie's, London, The Spencer House Sale, 8th July 2010, lot 1047 for £55,250. It is also worth comparing the intricate floral and foliate carving on the present frame with the border of a microscultura relief by Bonzanigo sold Sotheby's New York, 27th January 2011, lot 494 for $104,500.

It seems very likely that the present frame, as well as the pair of frames offered in lot 34, were created to contain drawings like those realized Pietro Giacomo Plamieri (1737-1804), a Bolognese draughtsman who perfected the technique of trompe l'oeil on paper. Examples of Bonzanigo frames containing Palmieri drawings are discussed and illustrated in Dalmasso, Bertolotto, op. cit., pp. 80-84.

Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (1745-1820) and the Savoy family-
a long lasting collaboration
Bonzanigo, together with Piffetti and Maggiolini, is considered one of the greatest Italian furniture-makers of the XVIIIth century with his pieces combining inspirations taken from both the sculptural as well as the architectural world.

Works attributed to Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo have traditionally represented the best Italian neoclassical furniture ever sculpted. His work is characterized by the departure from the traditional Franco-Piedmontese School of inlay and cabinet-making in favour of a more predominant use of carving, a technique which Bonzanigo took to a truly formal apotheosis especially in the works realized for the royal family.

Born in Asti in 1745, Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo settled in Turin in 1773. The following year he was elected to the Compagnia of San Luca. He worked for the Savoy Court for the next twenty years as a sculptor, wood-carver and cabinet-maker. In 1787, he was appointed official wood-carver to Victor Amadeus III, King of Savoy and remained in the position until the French invasion in 1796. In the accounts of the royal family he is recorded as having supplied numerous stools, chairs, armchairs, benches, sofas, screens, beds and mirrors as well as many ornamental panels and chests of drawers for the Royal Palace in Turin and for the royal residences at Moncalieri, Rivoli, Stupinigi, Venaria. His reputation grew in no small part due to the extraordinary quality of his wood carvings in light wood and ivory, the so-called `microsculture' which were highly sought after. In 1815, with the fall of Napoleon and the return of the Savoy family, he was re-instated as royal sculptor. His justly deserved reputation was such that on his death in 1820, the Gazetta Piemontese wrote "la bell'arte dell'intaglio ad altissimo grado di perfezione con quarant'anni di assidue cure... ."

Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray (1856-1927) and Lady Anne Cowdray (1913-2009):
Sir Weetman Pearson, later Baron Cowdray and from 1917 Viscount Cowdray, was one of the outstanding men of his age. Pearson's vision, understanding of engineering and exacting attention to detail transformed the family's building and contracting business: major schemes for waterworks, drains, railways, docks and tunnels were undertaken in almost bewildering succession, not only in the UK, Malta, Egypt, and the Sudan, but also in Spain, the United States (where Pearson was responsible for the Hudson River Tunnel and the East River Tunnels), Chile and above all in Mexico, where canal and railway projects were followed by a courageous investment in oil exploration. In 1908, Pearson purchased the historic Cowdray estate, which has remained ever since the seat of the Cowdray family (see fig. 2). Pearson set out to amass various meaningful collections of pictures, works of art and furniture. Lord Cowdray's 'lively interest in archaeology' developed on a tour of Greece and Italy in 1899, where he bought portraits, statues, busts and other works of art- it is veryl possible that the present frames were bought during this trip. In a privately printed Cowdray Park Catalogue of 1919, all items were listed and marked with inventory numbers - with furniture these appear as applied ivorine labels (like on the present frames). 
Weetman Pearson's grandson John, 3rd Viscount Cowdray (1910-1995) married in 1939 Lady Anne Pamela Bridgeman, daughter of Orlando Bridgeman, 5th Earl of Bradford and together they lived in Cowdray Park. In 1946, after her divorce, Lady Anne moved to Broadleas House in Wiltshire and dedicated her life to making Broadleas Gardens one of the country's horticultural gems.