AN ITALIAN SPECIMEN MARBLE, GLASS AND PARCEL-GILT CIRCULAR TABLE TOP

This inlaid marble top imitates in an unusual manner the Ancient Roman 'opus sectile' of the first centuries A.D. It is signed by Francesco Sibilio, who was a Roman marble craftsman and merchant, famous for his collection of semi-precious hard stones, as well as marbles, and was considered one of the major experts in this field. A closely related table top is in the Vatican Museum and a further example attributed to Giovanni Rossignani (to whom it was ascribed when exhibited in the 1867 Paris International Exhibition by the Pontifical Government) was sold at Christie's, London, 6 June 1991, lot 300.
The glass fragments used in such tables come from mosaic glass vessels, mostly bowls, dating from the late 1st Century B.C. to the early 1st Century A.D, excavated in the 19th Century and heated in order to level and smooth them.