.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
BARTOLI'S EARLIEST DEMI-LUNE FORM TABLE TOPS
The design and execution of these tops, previously unrecorded, can be attributed to Dominic Bartoli. Although attribution of 18th century scagliola work done in England and Ireland is a difficult area, since few contemporary records are known, the early career of Bartoli is comparatively well-documented. Born in Livorno in about 1740 he was in London by 1761 training as a marble mason. From 1763-1766 he was employed as a scagliolist by William Constable of Burton Constable Hall, Yorkshire. During his four years residence, for which he was paid a guinea a week and the cost of his materials, Bartoli produced seven pieces, some of which give us clues as to the authorship of these tables.
Bartoli made two large rectangular tables in porphyry scagliola, also laid on stone, during this period. It is a mark of quality that of all the different stone and marbles imitated in scagliola, porphyry is among the most difficult to imitate faithfully because it is composed of thousands of very small crystals of feldspar and quartz evenly set in a bed of silica.
He also executed five pieces with scagliola inlay work – two chimneypieces, two massive table tops and the Constable family’s coat of arms.
Of the inlaid table tops, the leaf work on the Britannia table corresponds to the work on the present table tops, with similar scrolled acanthus leaves and fruiting vines on a dark ground. The Long Gallery chimneypiece also features fruiting vines.
It is almost certain that the present tables date from the late 1760s or early 1770s. Bartoli executed a number of other commissions in this period, including the porphyry scagliola columns at Holland House in 1767, and we may infer from circumstantial evidence that he made a major contribution to the execution of the chimneypiece made by John Richter for Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill. But these tables are a most important addition to his recorded work, as well as significant in the history of scagliola work.
Bartoli was not only a skilled designer and master craftsman, but an innovator. The State Bed Dressing Room chimneypiece at Burton Constable is the first recorded instance of scagliola being inlaid into white marble. These tops are the first known D-shaped rather than rectangular scagliola tops. The earliest previously known D-shaped tops in scagliola were the white marble tables designed by Adam and executed by Bartoli and Richter for Northumberland House in the early 1770s. It has been assumed that the idea of inlaying scagliola on a D-shape was an innovation of Adam’s, but it now appears that Bartoli may have a prior claim.
Christie's is grateful to Donald Cameron for his assistance in researching these scagliola tops and his preparation of this catalogue entry.
Associate Professor E. Troy Rasbury of Stony Brook University, New York has identified that the present scagliola is laid down on serpentinite. She states ‘Serpentinite is soft and easy to work and is fairly widely available. It seems like an obvious choice for a craftsman since it would be easy to carve into a flat surface’. Donald Cameron has stated that the technique of laying scagliola on stone is typical of Bartoli during this period.
THE GILTWOOD BASES
The iconography of the present tables is worth noting. The combination of the carved eagles poised for flight and the paw feet evoke the griffin, a creature sacred to Apollo. Other elements, such as the central frieze medallion which seems to evoke a pair of caducei and the quiver of arrows surmounting each back leg, allude to healing and archery respectively, both attributes of Apollo.
An interesting comparison can be made between the present table bases and a pair of demi-lune tables with scagliola tops by Pietro Bossi, c. 1785, which were supplied to the 1st Duke of Leinster for either Carton or Leinster House and are now preserved in a Private Collection. This pair feature exaggerated leaf capitols, arranged like palms, above their fluted columnar legs, which relate to the exaggerated leaf capitols carved below the eagles and quivers of the present tables. The Knight of Glin and James Peill note that this decorative motif appears to be an Irish feature (see The Knight of Glin and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, New Haven, 2007 p.168, illus. fig. 229 and for another example see cat. 124). Another interesting comparison is that of three pairs of giltwood armchairs and a pair of sofas, in the manner of John Linnell, c. 1775, sold Anonymous sale; Christie’s, New York, 15 April 2005, lots 242-245. The front legs of this set share certain characteristics with the legs of the present tables, with spiral fluting and a foliate clasp.
The carving of the present tables, which evoke the neo-classical idiom of the 1780s, recalls the work of Wyatt. Spiral fluted legs are also a feature of a pair of white painted pier tables, designed by Wyatt for the Saloon at Castle Coole, Co. Fermanagh (see J. Robinson, James Wyatt Architect to George III, New Haven and London, 2011, p. 160). A pair of giltwood bases were designed by Wyatt for Scagliola tops by Bartoli, see The Property of Sir Richard Brooke, Bt.; Christie’s, London, 10 July 2014, lot 32 (£410,500).
The influence of French design on British decorative arts at the end of the eighteenth century, is evident in details of the present bases. The Francophile taste in England was led by The Prince of Wales, later George IV (1762-1830), who, taking advantage of the wealth of decorative furnishings available from the continent following the French revolution, filled his residence with such furniture. The eagles of the present tables must be in part inspired by French models. See for example a pair of chenets by Gouthière supplied by the marchand-mercier, Dominique Daguerre in the late 1780s and installed at Carlton House (RCIN 21664, discussed C. Vignon & C. Baulez, Pierre Gouthière Virtuoso Gilder at the French Court, New York, 2016, p. 238). Another comparison with French design can be made in relation to the quiver of arrows at the top of the back legs of the present table, which are similar to those in ormolu, seen on a pair of Étagères by Molitor also in this sale, see lot 1.
The design and execution of these tops, previously unrecorded, can be attributed to Dominic Bartoli. Although attribution of 18th century scagliola work done in England and Ireland is a difficult area, since few contemporary records are known, the early career of Bartoli is comparatively well-documented. Born in Livorno in about 1740 he was in London by 1761 training as a marble mason. From 1763-1766 he was employed as a scagliolist by William Constable of Burton Constable Hall, Yorkshire. During his four years residence, for which he was paid a guinea a week and the cost of his materials, Bartoli produced seven pieces, some of which give us clues as to the authorship of these tables.
Bartoli made two large rectangular tables in porphyry scagliola, also laid on stone, during this period. It is a mark of quality that of all the different stone and marbles imitated in scagliola, porphyry is among the most difficult to imitate faithfully because it is composed of thousands of very small crystals of feldspar and quartz evenly set in a bed of silica.
He also executed five pieces with scagliola inlay work – two chimneypieces, two massive table tops and the Constable family’s coat of arms.
Of the inlaid table tops, the leaf work on the Britannia table corresponds to the work on the present table tops, with similar scrolled acanthus leaves and fruiting vines on a dark ground. The Long Gallery chimneypiece also features fruiting vines.
It is almost certain that the present tables date from the late 1760s or early 1770s. Bartoli executed a number of other commissions in this period, including the porphyry scagliola columns at Holland House in 1767, and we may infer from circumstantial evidence that he made a major contribution to the execution of the chimneypiece made by John Richter for Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill. But these tables are a most important addition to his recorded work, as well as significant in the history of scagliola work.
Bartoli was not only a skilled designer and master craftsman, but an innovator. The State Bed Dressing Room chimneypiece at Burton Constable is the first recorded instance of scagliola being inlaid into white marble. These tops are the first known D-shaped rather than rectangular scagliola tops. The earliest previously known D-shaped tops in scagliola were the white marble tables designed by Adam and executed by Bartoli and Richter for Northumberland House in the early 1770s. It has been assumed that the idea of inlaying scagliola on a D-shape was an innovation of Adam’s, but it now appears that Bartoli may have a prior claim.
Christie's is grateful to Donald Cameron for his assistance in researching these scagliola tops and his preparation of this catalogue entry.
Associate Professor E. Troy Rasbury of Stony Brook University, New York has identified that the present scagliola is laid down on serpentinite. She states ‘Serpentinite is soft and easy to work and is fairly widely available. It seems like an obvious choice for a craftsman since it would be easy to carve into a flat surface’. Donald Cameron has stated that the technique of laying scagliola on stone is typical of Bartoli during this period.
THE GILTWOOD BASES
The iconography of the present tables is worth noting. The combination of the carved eagles poised for flight and the paw feet evoke the griffin, a creature sacred to Apollo. Other elements, such as the central frieze medallion which seems to evoke a pair of caducei and the quiver of arrows surmounting each back leg, allude to healing and archery respectively, both attributes of Apollo.
An interesting comparison can be made between the present table bases and a pair of demi-lune tables with scagliola tops by Pietro Bossi, c. 1785, which were supplied to the 1st Duke of Leinster for either Carton or Leinster House and are now preserved in a Private Collection. This pair feature exaggerated leaf capitols, arranged like palms, above their fluted columnar legs, which relate to the exaggerated leaf capitols carved below the eagles and quivers of the present tables. The Knight of Glin and James Peill note that this decorative motif appears to be an Irish feature (see The Knight of Glin and J. Peill, Irish Furniture, New Haven, 2007 p.168, illus. fig. 229 and for another example see cat. 124). Another interesting comparison is that of three pairs of giltwood armchairs and a pair of sofas, in the manner of John Linnell, c. 1775, sold Anonymous sale; Christie’s, New York, 15 April 2005, lots 242-245. The front legs of this set share certain characteristics with the legs of the present tables, with spiral fluting and a foliate clasp.
The carving of the present tables, which evoke the neo-classical idiom of the 1780s, recalls the work of Wyatt. Spiral fluted legs are also a feature of a pair of white painted pier tables, designed by Wyatt for the Saloon at Castle Coole, Co. Fermanagh (see J. Robinson, James Wyatt Architect to George III, New Haven and London, 2011, p. 160). A pair of giltwood bases were designed by Wyatt for Scagliola tops by Bartoli, see The Property of Sir Richard Brooke, Bt.; Christie’s, London, 10 July 2014, lot 32 (£410,500).
The influence of French design on British decorative arts at the end of the eighteenth century, is evident in details of the present bases. The Francophile taste in England was led by The Prince of Wales, later George IV (1762-1830), who, taking advantage of the wealth of decorative furnishings available from the continent following the French revolution, filled his residence with such furniture. The eagles of the present tables must be in part inspired by French models. See for example a pair of chenets by Gouthière supplied by the marchand-mercier, Dominique Daguerre in the late 1780s and installed at Carlton House (RCIN 21664, discussed C. Vignon & C. Baulez, Pierre Gouthière Virtuoso Gilder at the French Court, New York, 2016, p. 238). Another comparison with French design can be made in relation to the quiver of arrows at the top of the back legs of the present table, which are similar to those in ormolu, seen on a pair of Étagères by Molitor also in this sale, see lot 1.