MID-18TH CENTURY, THE GILTWOOD SUPPORTS OF LATER DATE

The Arcadian landscapes on these charming table tops exemplify the fashion for panels featuring rustic port scenes in various pietre dure workshops throughout the eighteenth century. A set of comparable panels depicting related harbour scenes is incorporated on the superb commode à encoignures by Martin Carlin and Adam Weisweiler, formerly in the Rothschild Collection, Paris, and subsequently sold Christie's, Monaco, 11 December 1999, lot 30 (W. Koeppe and A. Giusti, Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe, New York, 2008, pp. 334-335). Further known examples featuring similar harbour scenes include a George III cabinet in the Gilbert Collection, and the secrétaire-à-abattant executed by Martin Carlin circa 1780, now in the Louvre (A.M. Massinelli, The Gilbert Collection, Hardstones, London, 2000, cat. 6, pp. 44 - 46; A. Giusti, Pietre Dure and the Art of Florentine Inlay, London, 2005, pp. 210-211, respectively). A pair of related panels depicting maritime scenes sold Christie’s, London, 6 December 2012, lot 3 (£25,000 with premium).