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Not currently on display at the V&A

Table

ca. 1805 (made)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

Arthur Gilbert acquired five items from the estate of Empress Josephine of France. Included amongst them is this wonderful octagonal table designed by Francesco Belloni at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Empress Josephine led the rising interest in the revival of the antique technique of mosaic. She owned at least three tables by Belloni at the time of her death.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.


Object details

Object type
Table
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Table Top
  • Base
Materials and techniques
Micromosaic, rosewood, gilding
Mosaic Glass
Rosewood
Gold
Micromosaic
Forming
Gilding
Brief description
Hexagonal topped centre table with Hebe, Francesco Belloni, Paris, 1805.
Physical description
Octagonal tabletop with a central circular micromosaic depiction of the goddess Hebe en grisaille. She wears a classical robe and is seen in right profile, holding a ewer over her head and carrying a cup in her left hand. The figure is on a black ground bordered by red, blue and yellow dots within a further band holding a green ribbon tied with four gold attributes, the thunderbolt and crown of Jupiter and the caduceus and scales of Mercury. An outer border has alternating lunette and triangular reserves with birds attributes of the gods. The tabletop is supported by a carved and gilt rosewood base with a fluted column on a tripod plinth over three gilt feet.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 72.5cm
  • Height: 60.9cm
Gallery label
Centre table About 1810 The Empress Josephine used this table top at the Château de Malmaison, which she bought in 1799. She completely redecorated the house in the newest Empire style, creating fashionable interiors that combined the antique with the modern. Buying tables like this, she led the revival of the ancient technique of mosaic in France. France (Paris) Table top by Francesco Belloni Rosewood and gilded rosewood; glass micromosaic Formerly in the collection of Josephine Bonaparte The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (09/12/2015)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Empress Josephine, Malmaison. Glemham Hall, Suffolk. Dudley Long North, fifth Baron North, 1910. Mallet and Son, London, 1971.
Summary
Arthur Gilbert acquired five items from the estate of Empress Josephine of France. Included amongst them is this wonderful octagonal table designed by Francesco Belloni at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Empress Josephine led the rising interest in the revival of the antique technique of mosaic. She owned at least three tables by Belloni at the time of her death.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Bibliographic references
  • Sherman, Anthony C. The Gilbert Mosaic Collection. Edited by M. Barbara Scheibel. West Haven, Connecticut: Pendulum Press, 1971, pl. XXIV.
  • Grandjean, Serge. Inventaire après décès de l'Impératrice Joséphine à Malmaison, [Paris] Ministère d'État-Affaires culturelles, 1964, no. 1501.
  • Hillier, Bevis. 'The Gilbert Collection of Mosaics'. The Connoisseur, vol. 88, no. 758. London: April 1975, fig. 10.
  • Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue. Exhibition catalogue Victoria & Albert Museum. London: H.M.S.O. 1975, no. 36.
  • Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1977. 143 p., ill. Cat. no.33. ISBN 0875870805.
  • Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar and Steffi Röttgen with essays by Steffi Röttgen, Claudia Przyborowski; essays and new catalogue material translated by Alla Theodora Hall. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1982. 224 p., ill. Cat. no. 35. ISBN 0875871097
  • Alfieri, Massimo et al. Mosaici Minuti Romani del 700 e dell'800. Exhibition catalogue, Studio de Mosaico. Roma: Editioni del mosaico, 1986.
  • Gabriel, Hanisee, Jeanette. 'Mosaic Tables in the Gilbert Collection'. The Antique Collector, May 1993, vol. 64, no. 5 , pp. 78-81.
  • Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 37, p. 92-93. ISBN 0856675113.
Other numbers
  • MM 68 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • SG 91
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.884:1-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157704/table/
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