Lot 09

Lorenzo Bonuccelli (???? - 1707) (attributed) AN IMPORTANT BAROQUE PLAYING DESK

An extremely rare exceptional card table consisting of a classical table with a black and gold combination, into which is set a Baroque top using the Italian scagliola technique, an illusionary painting of scattered cards. This sophisticated technique, known as stucco marble, evokes the inlay of natural marble and was often used for the decoration of churches: in our country, for example, in the interior of St. Nicholas Cathedral or in the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Prague Castle. It differs from the visually similar technique of the Stucco chandelier by the substrate, which in the case of stucco consists of mortar. Exotic parrots, an oriental emu bird hunt, or torn cards are typical features of Lorenzo Bonuccelli's works. It was between 1685 and 1707 that this eminent Italian decorator, associated with the decoration of the royal palace in Turin, created several card tables using the scagliola technique, which are analogous in both composition and motif. Similar gaming tables were so popular at the time that they still exist in the collections of royal and noble houses throughout Europe. The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague has a similar gaming table in its collection. One of the cards is illegibly signed, also presumably with the name of the owner at the time. The offered card table comes from an important Prague collection. Enrico Colle, I Mobili di Palazzo Pitti, Il periodo dei Medici, 1537-1737, Florence, 1997, pp.173-174.