Attributed to Francis Garnier Valetti, Italy, 1808-1889 | Citron

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Garnier Valletti (1808–1889) was a botanist and modeller whose hyper-realistic wax models of fruit were highly sought after throughout the 19^th century. Valletti received at least 32 medals at international fairs and exhibitions and served as the official modeller for the Austrian crown in Vienna before being employed to create exquisite table displays of fruit at the court of the Tsar Nicholas I in St. Petersburg. On his return to Turn in 1848, Valletti joined forces with the French entrepreneur Auguste Burdin. Burdin used Valletti’s facsimile models to advertise his extensive inventory of seeds which included over 1,200 varieties of fruit and vegetables. The remnants of this extraordinary pomological collection are housed in the Museo della Frutta in Turin. The innovative venture failed after only a few years however Valletti continued to make models of fruit and vegetables until his death in 1889 during which time he supplied Prince Henry of Orange with 870 fruit models for the School of Agronomy in Amsterdam.