A pair of Italian polychrome painted and parcel-gilt wood sellettes 'à trespolo', Venice, mid-18th century

Sotheby’s London, 27 May 2009, lot 7

Related literature

G. Mazzario, Venetian palazzi, Cologne, 1998, p. 148, for a guéridon in the same taste.

E. Colle, Il mobile rococo in Italia, Milan, 2003, p. 334, for a pair of guéridons in the same taste.

The "alla porcellana" style of decoration was very fashionable in Venice in the mid-18th century. Artisans sought to recreate the whiteness and brilliance of Chinese and Meissen porcelain. On a cream background imitating enamel, artists painted motifs of flowers and birds, sometimes in monochrome. These light-colored pieces of furniture also reflected the light of the lagoon into the dark interiors of Venetian palaces. Several pieces of furniture decorated using this technique are notably displayed in the Ca' Rezzonico.

These pedestal tables with their "a trespolo"shape are characteristic of Venetian interiors. They are placed against the walls in the grand galleries, allowing vases or sculptures to be displayed for visitors to see. A pedestal table with this same shape is illustrated in G. Mazzario, Venetian palazzi, Cologne, 1998, p. 148 (Palazzo Albrizzi a S. Appolinare). A pair in the same style is also illustrated in E. Colle, Il mobile rococo in Italia, Milan, 2003, p. 334 (in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna).