Lot 231: AN ITALIAN PENWORK, INTARSIA, EBONY AND STAINED FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY CENTRE-TABLE

AN ITALIAN PENWORK, INTARSIA, EBONY AND STAINED FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY CENTRE-TABLE
BY ALMERICO GARGIULO, SORRENTO, LATE 19TH CENTURY
The dodecagonal top centred with a scene of a dancing couple watched by a monk, signed 'A Gargiulo', within an elaborate border of scrolling foliage, cherbus, masks and birds, the outer edge with ebonised moulding, the apron similarly decorated with griffins, the triangular pedestal support inlaid with trailing foliage and mythical beasts, flanked by three turned pilasters, on a tripartite base with pad feet, the underside with painted inventory number '47'
31¾ in. (80.5 cm.) high; 39 in. (99 cm.) diameter

Throughout the nineteenth century, there existed many workshops in the Sorrento and Mantua regions specialising in the centuries old tradition of inlaying fine wood and straw marquetry. Besides what amounted to a large-scale industry supplying trinkets to both tourists and an active export market, these workshops operated a smaller, yet equally important sideline producing individual pieces of furniture, many of them of exhibition quality. Almerico Gargiulo (1843-1912) was one of three brothers producing distinctive polychrome intarsia in the Sorrento workshop established by their father Luigi (1806-1883). Their work can be distinguished by its painterly quality of pictorial marquetry often depicting Roman historical or genre scenes.

A very similar table by Almerigo Gargiulo with an identical scene to the centre sold Sotheby's, New York, 15 April 2008, lot 556 ($55,000).