Table Top thumbnail 1
Table Top thumbnail 2
+24
images
Not on display

This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Table Top

1839 (made)
Artist/Maker
Poggioli, Camillo (maker)
Place of origin
Rome (made)

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

Categories
Secrets of the Museum
Mosaic
Furniture
Object type
Table top
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Top
  • Base
  • Brass Support
Materials and techniques
Micromosaic, marble, serpentine, gilt bronze, bronze and ebonised wood
Mosaic Glass
Serpentine (Mineral)
Marble
Gold
Bronze
Wood
Micromosaic
Inlay (Process)
Setting
Gilding
Casting
Carving
Brief description
Table top with birds, butterflies and fruit, Rome, Camillo Poggioli, 1839.
Physical description
A circular, serpentine-bordered black marble tabletop with a large central micromosaic composition portraying a big multi-hued bird in flight within a wreath composed of alternating flower, fruit and vegetable festoons upon which are perched a small bird and two butterflies. All are within a further band of intertwining convolvulus and yellow ribbon on a purple ground between red borders. The marble tabletop is bordered by a gilt-bronze moulding chased with overlapping leaves and is supported by a pedestal base, the central column of fluted ebonised wood between acanthus leaf bands, with three S-scroll ebonised supports terminating in gilt-bronze volutes, all on an ebonised tripod base resting on gilt lion's paw feet. The artist's signature and the date are incised in the serpentine border: Poggioli f.1839 in Roma.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 94.7cm
  • Height: 76.2cm
  • Tabletop depth: 6.7cm
Measured 25/01/24 IW
Gallery label
(2024)
Table with birds, fruits and flowers
1839

This circular table is decorated with an exceptionally vibrant central composition. Yet despite its evident craftsmanship, nothing is known about its maker, and for whom or why it was created. This is the first time the table has been displayed in the V&A, as its uneven surface required intensive conservation work.

Mosaic: Rome, Italy, Camillo Poggioli (active about 1839-47)
Support: probably Italy, late 19th century
Glass micromosaic, marble, serpentine, gilded bronze and ebonised wood
Signed: 'Poggioli f.1839 in Roma'
Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.117:1, 2-2008
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, lot 87, 22/02/1969. Giuseppe Costantini, Rome, 1971.
Summary
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
  • Avery, Charles, assisted by Arthur Emperatori. Mosaics from the Gilbert Collection: summary catalogue. London : H.M.S.O., 1975 37
  • 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. 63. 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. 67. ISBN 0875871097
  • 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. 51, p. 107-108. ISBN 0856675113.
  • The Gilbert Mosaic Collection, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975 41
Other numbers
  • MM 73
  • MM 297 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.117:1-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157853/table-top-poggioli-camillo/
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