LATE 18TH CENTURY

Although most likely North Italian in origin, the bold neoclassicism of this lot relates this table to the oeuvre of the influential pioneer of the goût grec, Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734–1789). The heavy garlands, the berried oak leaf pattern, the ribbon-tied fasces, plump volutes and the antique helmet are all recurring design elements in Oeuvre de J. Ch. Delafosse: Meubles and L’iconologie. Furthermore, the oversized nature of all design elements of this table are similar to those found in the work of Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (1727-1801). Petitot, the French architect and designer employed at the Bourbon court of Parma, is well known for his fantastical work that often incorporated proportionally overwhelming neoclassical elements while managing to keep an overall balance in the final product. Best illustrating Petitot’s approach to decoration is his Petitot’s Masquarade à la Grecque series. A prime example of Peitot’s furniture design conceived in the same manner is a giltwood console table for the ducal palace in Colorno featuring large ram’s heads, wide Vitruvian scroll and guilloche carvings, and heavy acanthus-carved feet terminating in hoofs, see G. Cirillo, Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, Parma, 2002, figs. 150-151. As principal architect and designer at court, his activity greatly influenced local Italian craftsmen and furniture produced in Parma in the last quarter often features oversized Greek-key and Vitruvian scroll motifs, hefty legs, and heavy garlands. For a side table, a chair, a console table, and a desk, all from Parma workshops and clearly exhibiting Petitot’s influence, see G. Cirillo and G. Godi, Il Mobile a Parma fra Barocco e Neoclassicismo, 1600-1800, Parma, 1983, p. 192, fig. 518 and p. 195, figs. 535. 536 and 537, respectively.