A MATCHED PAIR OF NEAPOLITAN PIETRE DURE AND MARBLE TOPS LATE 17TH CENTURY, ON EARLY LOUIS XV STYLE CARVED GILTWOOD CONSOLE TABLES |

one top with central lapis lazuli and onyx shaped oval flanked by floral scrolling in specimen stones and lapis, on a black marble ground, one with rose marble inner border, with black, white, and breccia marble curved edge, the other top with a border delimited by large flowers outlined with thick white borders on a green marble, further with black, white, and breccia marble curved edge, mounted on carved giltwood stands, with central mask, pierced foliate and floral with scallop frieze, trellis style frieze, joined by broken leaf capped scroll legs, with pierced raised centre with plume headed female carved scrolled legs ending in dragon heads, joined by stretcher centred by a pierced finial, restorations to tops

The Collection of the 2nd Lord Brocket (1906-1967) at Bramshill, Hampshire;
thence by descent, until sold Sotheby's London, 12 December 1986, lot 221 (£198,000).

These impressive tables are in good conserved condition. Table 1, with verde antico background: showing small repairs and replacement to stones, mainly to the gadrooned edge. Minor filling to previous losses. One loss of a agate piece on the frame of the central medallion. Reparis to four corners, one corner with visible chip. Table 2, with pink background: Table top with minor losses. Some lapis lazuli replaced. Chip to bottom right corner and one other loss to gadrooned edge. Bases: in overall good condition with minor chips to gilding and some joint cracks visible, as expected. Good quality carving.
"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 taste for pietra dura in Naples Both the admiration for the Antique and archaeological discoveries in the 16th  century stimulated a passion for marbles and rare stones that were previously synonymous with the splendour of Imperial Rome. The natural beauty of stones and their connection to the Roman past boosted the emergence of skilled marble-working workshops in Rome, with Florence developing its workshops soon after. However, by the early 17th century, the popularity of polychrome inlaid-marble decoration had spread from Florence and Rome to Naples, the largest and most important city in South Italy. Naples’ position as one of the centres for pietre dure further developed in 1738 when Carlos VII of Bourbon, King of Naples (later King Carlos III of Spain) established the Real Laboratorio delle Pietre Dure.

Neapolitan pietre dure found in local churches offered highly dramatic, innovative, colourful and bold designs, often covering entire pavements and walls. These impressive table tops transpose this same striking language to a secular function and are one of the best examples of their kind.

These exceptional matched pair of tables, previously owned by Arthur Ronald Nall-Cain, the 2^nd Lord Brocket (1906-1967) assert their individuality by offering us different surface designs. Although influenced in design by Roman models, e.g. in the use of central oval alabaster medallions, the table tops diverge from those given their bolder scrolls, the choice of stones, the stylized cross motifs at their center and the thicker white marble framing filets.

Related examples include a top sold at Sotheby's Paris, B.B.S.: Un Hommage, 30 Jun 2016, lot 22 (€75,000) and another sold Christie’s London, The European Connoisseur, 5 December 2013, lot 53 (£110,500), the later in the manner of the Neapolitan sculptor and architect Cosimo Fanzago (1591-1678).

In many ways, the work of Fanzago relates to the aesthetic of the present table tops. Fanzago is considered to be one of the greatest figures of the Baroque period in Naples. His work is recorded in many local churches and can be characterized by the use of an astonishing variety of different marbles and stones cut and assembled in distinct ways.

During his lifetime, Fanzago continuously maintained his expressive language. He treated architecture as sculpture and rigorously dramatized ordinary natural motifs, thus leading to theatrical visual effects. As he visited Rome twice, from 1638 to 1650 and in 1652, it is also frequent to identify in his work hints of the Roman pietre dure vocabulary. Interestingly, proposition drawings of the altars in the Church of San Francesco di Paola and in the Church of SS. Trinità delle Monache, published in A.Bulifon. Da Sarnelli (1697) (reproduced in Cantone, G. Napoli Barocca e Cosimo Fanzago, Naples, 1984, p.37, p.43), feature motifs highly comparable to the one found at the centre of the present tops. Additionally, the designs of a flower vase in the Church of San Martino, of tightly drawn rosettes in the Church of Saint Teresa and of his numerous Church columns with large flowers recall the aesthetic of the present matched pair of table tops.

Lord Brocket and Bramshill House, Hampshire

The tables were housed along with Brocket's impressive collection at Bramshill House, Hampshire. Lord Brocket (1904-1967), a politician who worked hard to reach a peace settlement between England and Germany during the Second World War and a barrister educated at Eton College and Oxford University.

From a family that made its wealth from brewing, he purchased Bramshill House from the Cope family in 1935. Lord Brocket undertook structural repairs and made sure, in partnership with the National Trust, to preserve the park and building, which had been essentially built by Edward, 11^th Baron Zouche of Harringworth (1556-1625). From its architecture to its interiors, the Jacobean country house breaths history, extravagance and wealth. Later bought in 1953 by the Home Office to be used as a police staff college, the house is itself easily recognizable by its prominent south facade with an entrance portico front between the truncated wings.

With a house of 36 rooms like Bramshill, Lord Brocket naturally furnished adequately his surroundings. Multiple photographs taken of Bramshill' interiors display a multitude of museum-worth works where Brocket’s taste for heterogeneity in interior decoration becomes evident.