A NORTH ITALIAN TULIPWOOD, AMARANTH, AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY DEMI-LUNE COMMODE

This elegant commode is closely related to the work of Ignazio Ravelli (1756-1836). Ravelli came from Vercelli, in the north west of Italy. Ravelli specialised in inlaid furniture and was renowned for the high quality of his marquetry; and as a cabinet-maker his signature piece was the demi-lune commode. Ravelli’s career started with him copying the decoration of the Renaissance choir stalls in the church of S. Andrea in Vercelli, having noted that King Vittorio Amedeo III was particularly impressed by them. From about 1780 Ravelli, was assisted and followed by his son Luigi, who specialised in architectural fantasies or what he called ‘perspectives’, which he either incorporated into pieces of furniture or sold individually as pictures in wood. His unique visions, which were built on architectural scenes infuenced by the engravings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) and Vincenzo Mazzi (1748-1790), earned him the patronage of the court at Turin and a royal pension granted to him by Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Sardinia, in 1791.