Live Auction 7631Important European Furniture & Sculpture
AN ITALIAN GILTWOOD CONSOLE
Lot 40

AN ITALIAN GILTWOOD CONSOLE

ROME, MID-18TH CENTURY

Closed4 December 2008

Price Realised

GBP 22,500

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AN ITALIAN GILTWOOD CONSOLE
ROME, MID-18TH CENTURY
The shaped Siena marble top above a foliate-carved frieze and a pierced apron centred by a winged female mask flanked by foliate scrolls, on foliate-wrapped scrolled supports headed by grotesque masks and carved with dragons, joined by a shell and terminating in moulded feet
35¼ in. (89.5 cm.) high; 52½ in. (133.5 cm.) wide; 26 in. (66 cm.) deep

By repute, Principi Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome.

Specialist note

The sacred dragons ornating the S-shaped supports most probably refer to the coat-of-arms of the celebrated Boncompagni Roman dynasty. Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni was elected pope on May 13, 1572. His coat-of-arms shows a dragon with a truncated tail, which is the evil part of this imaginary animal.
The Boncompagni Ludovisi had a palace in Rome in Piazza Colonna. When the palace was pulled down to enlarge the central part of Via del Corso, the Boncompagni Ludovisi built a new very large palace on the site of their casino.
Interestingly, the dragon motif is also featured on the coats-of-arms of other Roman families, such as the Borghese and Del Drago.