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162 - SECRETARY WITH ITALIAN SIDEBOARDS FROM THE SECOND HALF OF TH…
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Estimate €20,000 - €30,000
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Description
SECRETARY WITH ITALIAN SIDEBOARDS FROM THE SECOND HALF OF THE 18th CENTURY, PIEMONTIAN WORK Attributed to Ignazio Ravelli With marquetry decoration on a violet wood base, ebony veneer, mother-of-pearl and ivory fillets, chased and gilded bronze ornamentation in part, white marble top encircled by an openwork gallery decorated with posts, the front decorated with imaginary architectures opening with a drawer, a flap revealing a leather-covered writing desk and six drawers, two leaves in the lower part, sheathed legs; small accidents and missing parts to the veneer. H. 142 cm (56 in.) l. 79 cm (31 in.) P. 44,5 cm (17 ½ in.) Comparative bibliography: G. De Gregory, Istoria della vercellese letteratura ed arti, Turin, Chirio e Mina, Vol. IV, 1824, pp. 385-386. V. Viale (ed.), Mostra del Barocco Piemontese, Catalogo, Vol. III, Mobili e intagli, Turin, 1963, pp. 26-27, figs. 217-219 R. R. Antonetto, Minusieri ed ebanisti del Piemonte. Storia e immagini del mobile piemontese 1636-1844, Turin, 1985, pp. 350-353 A. González-Palacios, I Ravelli, certo e incerto, in Il gusto dei principi. Arte di corte del XVII e del XVIII secolo, Milan, Longanesi & C., 1993, pp. 264, 342-343, 363-366 P. San Martino, Scena e capriccio nelle tarsie del laboratorio di Ignazio e Luigi Ravelli ebanisti, 1800 circa, in "Studi Piemontesi", XXVI, 2, 1997, pp. 383-390 E. Colle, Il Regno di Sardegna: decorazioni d'interni e manifatture, in Il Neoclassicismo in Italia da Tiepolo a Canova. Exhibition catalogue, Milan, Skira-Artificio, 2002 E. Colle, Il mobile neoclassico in Italia: arredi e decorazioni d'interni dal 1775 al 1800, Milan, Electa, 2005, p. 426. R. Antonetto, Il mobile piemontese nel Settecento, 2 vols, Turin, Umberto Allemandi & C., 2010, pp. 316-335. Genio e maestria. Mobili ed ebanisti alla corte sabauda tra Settecento e Ottocento, Turin, Exhibition catalogue, Reggia di Venaria, 17 March - 15 July 2018, Allemandi Editore, 2018. In particular: R. Antonetto, Ignazio e Luigi Ravelli, pp. 145 ff; 288-290; E. Colle, Prima di Piffetti, dopo Piffetti: le virtù dell'intarsio italiano, pp. 39 ff. An Italian Piedmontese gilt-bronze mounted, kingwood, ebony, mother-of-pearl and ivory secretaire a abattant, second half of the 18th century, attributed to Ignazio Ravelli This secretary, one of the most interesting pieces of Piedmontese furniture to come to the fore in recent years, is the undoubted work of Ignazio (1756-1836) and Luigi (1776-1858) Ravelli, natives of Vercelli and key figures in the decorative arts of Italian neoclassicism. Both father and son, belonging to a dynasty of cabinet-makers active since the 17th century, shared a workshop and home and enjoyed considerable renown, not only in Italy. The local historian Gaspare de Gregory testifies to this, writing in 1824 that their marquetry paintings "are sought after by connoisseurs, and can be found in Vienna, Paris and Spain". They were therefore admired abroad, as they were in Piedmont, where King Victor-Amédée III of Sardinia granted Ignazio a life annuity of 241 lire. This is why our secretary, over and above its cabinet-making qualities, represents a significant historical contribution. The fact that this piece of furniture, which can be attributed to the early 1790s, was made by the Ravelli family - and mainly by Ignazio, as Luigi was hardly more than a child at the time - is demonstrated by the iconography shared with other works from this prestigious workshop. Numerous comparisons are possible. In the upper frontal section, we see a solemn representation of classical palaces supported by arcades and overlooking a mirror of water: the same motif, with insubstantial variations, recurs in several other works by Ignazio and Luigi. It can be found on the central leaf of a half-moon chest of drawers (one of a pair) that belonged to a Turin collection and was sold at Christie's Milan on 28 November 2007, lot 1009 (see fig. 1). It can also be found in an inlaid panel signed on the back by Luigi Ravelli, belonging to the Camillo Leone Museum in Vercelli, or in a marquetry painting in a private collection, signed by Luigi Ravelli and published by the author of these lines on p. 323, pl. 5 of Vol. I of Il mobile piemontese nel Settecento, Turin, Allemandi Editore, 2010 (see figs. 2-3). The same subject partly inspired a marquetry painting in the collections of the Palazzo Madama - Museo Civico d'Arte Antica Torino, Inv. 330/L. In the lower section of the front of the desk, a composition of ruined architecture contrasts with the design of the flap, like a theatrical confrontation between splendour and decadence. The inlaid decoration on the left-hand side of our desk matches the decoration on the front of one of the two half-moon commodes (see fig. 4) sold at Christie's Milan on 28 November 2007, lot 1009. The ruins were transposed into marquetry using the cartoons that made up the workshop's repertoire, invented by the cabinet-makers themselves or taken from engravings in circulation at the time. In the works of the two Ravelli, the drawings are decomposed and recomposed in an infinite play of variations, adapted to the expressive possibilities of the wood colours and the skill of the craftsmen. The medallion-adorned side panels of our desk depict landscapes that bear close resemblance to subjects in other Ravelli pieces. The top right-hand side of the desk (see fig. 5) is similar to a panel on a half-moon chest of drawers in Palazzo Madama (see fig. 6). Inv. 1164/L (right leaf) and with a chest of drawers sold at Pandolfini Florence (see fig. 7) on 12 November 2019, lot 7 (right leaf). Of the latter, the left-hand side in turn corresponds to the subject on the left-hand side at the top of the secretary. It is also worth noting that the quality and layout of the background woods are identical, that the knots above the medallions seem visibly to have been made by the same hand, and that the woven pattern of the ovals on the Palazzo Madama piece is the same as that on the secretary, in the latter halved in width to make way for an inner ebony and ivory counterframe. Even more important than the specific comparisons are the general architecture and figurative design of the piece, which are clearly Ravellian, and the execution techniques, which are just as clearly superimposed on those used by the Vercell workshop, starting with the walnut structure and the drawers, also in dark walnut, right down to the locks. The richness of the ormolu ornamentation is unusual for a piece of Piedmontese furniture and is reminiscent of French models from the same period; one possible explanation could be that it was made to order for a French buyer. The name of André-Louis Gilbert (1746-1809) is worth mentioning in this context, a French cabinetmaker who, like the Ravelli family, was strongly influenced by the charm of architectural marquetry. Finally, it should be remembered that a chest of drawers stamped Gilbert (Sotheby's Paris sale, 18 January 2002, lot 123) shows the same view of the ruins of the left leaf of our secretary (see fig. 8). *Information for buyers: In accordance with current regulations, ivory lots have a CIC and are in free circulation within the European Union. Exit from the European Union (excluding Monaco) is prohibited. *Information to the buyers : In accordance to current regulations, these lots an intra-community certificate and are in free circulation within the European Union. The export outside European Union (excluding Monaco) is prohibited.
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About the sale Furniture and Works of Art - Evening Sale (Lot 1-170)
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Auction time 06/16/2026 at 5:00 PM
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