AN ITALIAN MICROMOSAIC TABLE, ROME CIRCA 1825-1850

Herbert Trigger, New York, 1969;

Property from the Estate of Ethan Ayer, Cambridge, Massachusetts;

Sotheby's New York, 12 October 1988, lot 172.

J. H. Gabriel, with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri, Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection, London, 2000, cat. no. 71, p. 133.

A. González-Palacios, The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection, Los Angeles, 1977, cat. no. 72, pp.106-107.

A. González-Palacios, and Steffi Röttgen with essays by Steffi Röttgen, Claudia Przyborowski; essays and new catalogue material translated by Alla Theodora Hall, The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection, Los Angeles, 1982, cat. no. 79., p.179.

A. C. Sherman, edited by M. Barbara Scheibel, The Gilbert Mosaic Collection, West Haven, 1971, cat. no. XXIII, p.47.

The subject of this panel is inspired by ancient mosaics, namely a floor depicting a basket of flowers in the Pio Clementino Museum of Vatican (inv. no. MC0402). The celebrated Roman mosaic, Doves of Pliny, excavated from Hadrian's villa in Tivoli in 1737, is a recurrent motif in 19th century mosaics and might also have provided inspiration for the motif of the present lot. An obvious symbol of love as the spring of life, doves, together with the basket of flowers, are meticulously executed: the light effects and contrasting vibrant colours against the Belgian black marble top create an enchanting trompe l’oeil. An almost identical tabletop is illustrated in C. Payne, European Furniture of the 19th century, 2013, p.478.