A NORTH ITALIAN NEOCLASSICAL GILT BRASS-MOUNTED TULIPWOOD, FRUITWOOD AND MARQUETRY COMMODE IN THE MANNER OF GIUSEPPE MAGGIOLINI LOMBARDY, LATE 18TH CENTURY

In good restored condition; ready to place. Patches to marquetry- largest being a 6x6 inch section to second drawer. Old wood worm damage and scattered infill. Wear and rubbing to some of the decoration to marquetry. Penwork to sides has been refreshed. Marble top is later with some scattered abrasions to edges.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This finely-inlaid commode is clearly inspired by the work of the influential Milanese cabinetmaker Giuseppe Maggiolini. Certain design elements of this lot can be found in drawings by the workshop of Maggiolini, including the rounded tapering legs inlaid with volutes and acanthi terminating in ormolu sabots, see Giuseppe Beretti, Giuseppe Maggiolini: L'Officina del Neoclassicismo, Milan, 1994, p. 61, fig 64 and p. 204. fig. 272. The use of lavish ruin marquetry is also a hallmark of Maggiolini's work, though it was later adapted by contemporaneous cabinetmakers. The designs for these architectural capricci were most often adapted from works by talented draughtsmen of the time, such as Giuseppe Levati. As the taste for Neoclassical furniture evolved in Europe during the third quarter of the eighteenth century, Maggiolini was instrumental in popularizing it amongst the aristocracy and fashionable members of Milanese society for whom he executed commissions of extremely high quality. A measure of the importance and influence of Maggiolini's work is evidenced by the fact that it was copied not only in his native Milan, but also elsewhere in Italy; notably in Genoa and Rome. Indeed, the fact that his designs were so influential and imitated in the late 1700s, frequently makes it very difficult to distinguish between pieces made in Lombardy, in Genoa or in Rome.