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an old wooden chest of drawers with carvings on top of ita small black chest of drawers against a brick walla black chest of drawers in front of a stone walla black dresser sitting against a wall with a stone wall in the backgrounda black cabinet sitting in front of a stone walla metal cabinet that has a decorative design on ita close up of a door with a face on ita close up of a metal drawer with a lock on ita close up of a wooden dresser with a metal knoba close up of a wooden door with a face on ita black desk with a drawer and a drawer underneath itan old wooden cabinet against a stone wall with a door opena blue sign on the side of a wooden doora close up of a piece of wood with a logo on ita close up of a wooden barrel with a logo on it
HOTEL DES VENTES DE BEAUNE

547 - Egisto CAJANI (a Florentine sculptor born in 1832 and active…
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Estimate €400 - €600
Sale commission
Description
Egisto CAJANI (a Florentine sculptor born in 1832 and active during the final third of the 19th century) and his workshop. A blackened carved wooden secretary desk with four drawers and a drop-down panel. The drop-down panel reveals an oak compartment with two drawers. The interior of the drop-down panel is lined with dark leather. Rich carved ornamentation in bas-relief and high relief featuring cut leather, reclining chimeras, scrollwork, toruses and faces. Oak frame. Front legs in a spinning top shape. Stamped twice on the back within an oval: ‘Egisto Cajani Intagliatore Firenze’. Also bears a partial label on the back with the address 4 Rue Nationale, Florence. Florence, last third of the 19th century. (Some damage and minor losses; one restored handle; the original marble top is likely missing; no key) Height: 141 cm – Width: 74 cm – Depth: 42 cm. Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts and in the craft of engraving in the workshops of Angiolo Barbetti and later Francesco Morini, Egisto Gajani was one of the most famous woodcarvers working in Florence during the last third of the 19th century. In the early 1860s, he opened a small workshop which, as commissions poured in, expanded rapidly. By 1867, it employed as many as fourteen workers and several cabinetmakers. From that time onwards, he took part in the major international and world exhibitions of his day (Dublin, Philadelphia, Paris, Turin, Venice). He worked for wealthy Italian patrician families and for a discerning European clientele. He also received several official commissions from the Italian state. He was a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence from 1870 onwards and was actively involved in the School for Woodcarvers, Cabinetmakers and Joiners in Florence. Despite the renown of his workshop on ‘Via Nazionale’, he went bankrupt in 1888. His work is now held in museum collections (e.g. a richly carved frame from 1870 held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York; a carved walnut mantelpiece from 1888 held at the Museo Stibbert in Florence).
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About the sale BEAUTIFUL FURNISHINGS, PAINTINGS, OBJETS D'ART, ENTOMOLOGY, VINTAGE VEHICLES
Auction location
Auction time 06/28/2026 at 2:00 PM
Ref. : 5932 - 4
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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