Description:

3 panels
Italy
16th/17th century
Cartapesta with wooden core, nailed-on slats
Middle panel 144 x 77 cm
Flanking panels 146 x 77 cm each

The three ornately carved panels, painted in bright colours, are made in cartapesta. The technique of cartapesta was developed in Italy in the 16th century and is particularly well known in Lecce, an Apulian town, but may have had its antecedents in Naples. It is a type of papier-mâché where the paper is soaked in binder, then ground, pressed, and finally applied. Here, clay models and plaster cast negatives are often used, with the paper being pressed into the mould and later attached to the final structure. The final layer is dried and covered with a layer of plaster glue. Then the details are sculptured out, with the surface receiving a waterproof coating, making the final result look like wood, stucco or even marble. Several workshops were built in Lecce, and this technique was used in numerous sacred and courtly buildings. The papier-mâché replaced stucco as a material for ceiling and wall decorations (e.g. in Santa Chiara in Lecce), with three panels of such luxurious interior decoration preserved here. These panels are adorned with dynamically curved, volute-shaped tendril formations that are symmetrically arranged around a central stem. This pattern shows two different flowers with acanthus-like foliage, always arranged as a pair of opposites: a bluish flower and a conical white and gold one. Flanking these and also inscribed in tendrils are small dragon creatures excitedly flapping their spread and serrated wings. The green tendrils stand out spectacularly against the bold red background due to their sculptural design and must have originally contributed to the colourful impression of the interior. The motifs of the grotesques show great similarity to the engravings of the Ara Pacis by Agostino Veneziano or Agostino dei Musi (c. 1490 - c. 1540) around c. 1535/36 (MET 24.10.16), who borrowed directly from the ornamentation of this important Roman monument. Decorative designs from antiquity were of great importance for the decorative schemes of the 16th century. These panels thus reflect an original richness of form that draws increasingly on ancient models. Another ornamental design by the same artist also shows figurative and zoomorphic (mixed) creatures amidst vines (MET 49.95.42). Agostino Veneziano's engravings after Raphael show equally interesting similarities in the floral forms (MET 24.72.2) and the winged creatures in the centre of the tendrils (MET 24.72.17). A striking example of Raphael's work is the wall decoration of the loggias in the Vatican Palace, completed around 1519, which refer to models of ancient imperial palaces and villas.

Bibliography:
David Landau & Peter Parshall, The Renaissance Print, New Haven 1996.
Enzo Rossi Ròiss, Cartapesteide, Urbino 2006.


Accepted Forms of Payment:

Wire Transfer

Shipping

Shipping costs are not included in the invoice total. TIBERIUS-AUCTIONS does not offering shipping. We provide a list of trusted local and International professionals who have offered their services.


Vienna and surrounding area:

Pempertransporte
Biberstraße 22/2A | 1010 Vienna | AUSTRIA
Mobil: +43 650 40 20 108
[email protected] | www.pempertransporte.at


D,CH, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Scandinavia:

Fegers GmbH Service for art and trade
Moldenweg 5
D-21339 Lüneburg
Tel: +49 (0) 4131 727 525
Mobil +49(0)171 770 50 18
Fax: +49 (0) 04131 727 524
[email protected]


Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Benelux:

Gugel srl
Via Papa Giovanni XXIII
31020 Sernaglia d. Batt. -TV
Part.IVA: 03222990263
Nr. Iscr. Albo: TV/2655895/F
Tel. +39 335 52 73 742
[email protected]


National and international air freight service:

Mail Boxes Etc. - Europex Business Services e.U.
Walfischgasse 6, 1010 Wien
[email protected]


TIBERIUS-AUCTIONS will not release items to any shipper until your auction invoice has been paid.

All items must be picked up, or shipping arrangements made, within three weeks of the day of sale. NOTE: Items left here more than three weeks will incur storage fees at a rate of € 10.00 per lot per day (this rate applies to all items regardless of size or value).

May 11, 2023 5:00 PM CEST
Vienna, Austria

Tiberius Auctions

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 27% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
€0 €99 €5
€100 €199 €10
€200 €399 €20
€400 €999 €50
€1,000 €1,999 €100
€2,000 €3,999 €200
€4,000 €9,999 €500
€10,000 €19,999 €1,000
€20,000 €39,999 €2,000
€40,000 + €5,000