Octagonal panel with integral frame, veneered in ebony and ivory, with a central roundel showing a profile bust of Christopher Columbus

An elongated octagonal panel and frame in portrait format, both in marquetry of ebony and ivory on a carcase of pine (probably), with additional marquetry in walnut and other woods (possibly holly), showing evidence of original green staining. The marquetry centres on the bust of Christopher Columbus, surrounded by a wreath of oak and laurel entwined with a ribbon which bears the inscription: 'LO SCOPRITOR DEL NUOVO MONDO'. The mouldings of the frame are in ebonized wood. The back of the panel and the frame are veneered in walnut

The structure of the broad frame (approximately 20.5 cm wide overall) is almost certainly of pine (knots visible under X-ray suggest a softwood). The carcase of the frame is made of four sections, almost certainly lap-joined at the corners, the outer corners cut at an angle to create the octagon shape, which is echoed on the inner edge of the farme with the addition of small triangular sections glued into the inner corners (see paper records for diagram, and X-ray photographs to confirm construction of the frame.

The veneers and mouldings on the front face are cut in 8 sections, following the sections of the octagon. A diagrammatic sketch of a cross-section of the frame is filed with paper records of this piece, together with a diagram of the construction of the underframe..

The frame is bevelled behind at an angle of 45 degrees on its outer back edges, allowing the frame to seem to float from the wall. The outer edge is vertical to the panel plane for a height of approximately 1.6 cm and on the lower and upper edge is a single engraved line, approximately 0.3 cm from the edge. From this vertical face, the frame steps in from the outer edge and rises in a series of mouldings (cavetto, ogee, fillet) to a top fillet approximately 0.5 cm wide, and then steps back with a broader series of mouldings to a flat fillet, approximately 1.2 cm wide, veneered with ivory which is engraved with upright acanthus leaves, the engraving highlighted with mastic.

On the inner edge of this is another moulding of ebonized wood, approximately 0.8 cm wide, stepping down with bolection and other mouldings to a broad (7.4 cm) band, veneered with ebony panels with marquetry of engraved ivory, the designs composed of scrolling foliage, flower heads, monsters, and putti. The ebony of these panels is a very solid black, in contrast to the varied tones of the main panel. On the topmost panel the design centres on a fountain, flanked by drinking swans and by putti, that on the left playing a pipe, that on the right playing a guitar; on the lowest panel the scrolls centre on two mer-women, linking arms; on the side panels there are no dominant central motifs; on the canted panels the designs centre on masks (the same male on each upper panel, and two female masks with headdresses below, that on the right of foliage, that on the left of flowers).

In the inner edge of these panels is another moulding of ebonized wood (approximately 1.2 cm broad), stepping back with cavetto and other mouldings to a second flat veneered section of engraved ivory, this set at approximately 30 degree to the plane of the main panel. It is approximately 2.5 cm wide and is engraved with a broad guilloche between bands of beading, the engraving heightened with black mastic. On the inner edge of this is an ebonized moulding (including torus and bolection mouldings) which steps back to the main panel.

The main panel is of a more varied ebony than the intermediate marquetry panels, with a very apparent striping of brown below the figure, just to the right of the centre. The grain runs vertically, except that the outermost 3 cm of this panel is composed of two strips of ebony (1.7 cm on the outside, 0.9 cm on the inside), with the grain running parallel to each of the eight sides, the narrow strip flanked by two thin ivory strings. The main ground is inset with a marquetry wreath of laurel (left) and oak (right), both showing berries, in walnut or holly, green stained and with engraved detail of veins on the leaves. Each leaf is cut with grain running in a different direction to vary the effect. The wreath is entwined with a narrow ivory ribbon with engraved lines running along each edge and the inscription 'LO SCO/ PRI/ TOR/ DEL/ NUOVO/ MON DO ( the spacing determined by the folds of the ribbon). From a knot in the centre of the ribbon hangs an anchor. The wreath surrounds marquetry in engraved ivory of a bust of a man in 15th-century dress, with a squared cap, identifiable as Christopher Columbus, from an engraving by Theodore de Bry, after a painted image of Columbus attributed to Sebastiano del Piombo, ca. 1519.

The back is veneered thickly in walnut, with radially set sections covering the frame and vertical grain backing the main panel, which is separate, sunk within the frame, and held in with pins. A small section of veneer is missing on the lower canted side of the back of the frame on the left-hand (PL) side.

The frame is set at the top with an original iron hanger, black-japanned, set flush with the veneer. The long vertical plate is trapezoid in shape, wider at the base, giving security when hanging. The circular top is pierced with a large, circular hole.

A modern mirror plate in brass plate is attached at the base of the back, obscuring the lowest label.

Shown at the Vienna International Exhibition in 1873

Many firms produced pieces for international exhibitions in the 19th century that reflected a historical tradition of design in their home country. Italian firms frequently used the technique of ebony and ivory marquetry, imitating the finest cabinets produced in Naples in about 1600. Giovanni Battista Gatti was one of the most inventive and skilled 19th-century cabinetmakers to use this technique. His panel depicts Christopher Columbus, the Italian-born adventurer who was credited with discovering America in 1492. The panel formed part of a large display, described as a 'trionfo' (triumph), which probably included several panels showing famous Italians. So far, we have been unable to trace an image of the 'trionfo'.

W.40-1970