Table (Tabletop and Stand)
1805
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This circular tabletop, of the type known in the nineteenth century as a 'gallery of stones', contains one hundred and forty-eight stone specimens including jasper, agate, porphyry, lapis lazuli, and labradorite. The table rests on a veneered wooden base. Decorative tabletops that included inlaid stone specimens and in particular, samples of ancient marbles, were made as exceptional souvenirs for visitors touring Italy from the eighteenth century.
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Object details
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Tabletop of white Carrara statuary marble inlaid with 148 stone specimens of hardstones (pietre dure) and marble cut in quadrangular, oval, circular and triangular sections, arranged in concentric bands around a radiating star motif. The innermost row: 24 stone samples distributed around a central medallion of purple amethyst, outlined by a band of blue lapis lazuli composed of 8 sections. Double series of triangles arranged in a circle with circular plaques: labradorite. Sequence of concentric stone samples consisting of 48 sections of various stones: including porphyry, granite, jasper and agate. Inlaid band of 24 quadrangular plaques arranged in a diamond pattern: labradorite. Third row of samples including 72 stone specimens. Outer border composed in oval sections alternating with smaller double almond-shaped motifs comprising seventy-two elements: lapis lazuli. Tabletop on original wooden base. |
| Brief description | An Italian specimen hardstone and marble table top, attributed to Giacomo Raffaelli, circa 1805, and wood stand |
| Physical description | A circular table top of hardstone and marble specimens, set on a wooden base or stand. |
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| Marks and inscriptions | |
| Gallery label | Giacomo Raffaelli is best known for his micromosaics, but he was also a talented lapidary artist. For this table, he arranged 148 different stone specimens into harmonious geometric designs. Raffaelli often combined his love of minerals with micromosaics in his works, as seen in the Vases with Griffins and Triumphal Arch Clock displayed in the nearby case.
Rome, Italy; Giacomo Raffaelli (1753–1836)
Tabletop: hardstones (including jaspers, agate, porphyry, lapis lazuli and labradorite) and marbles set into Carrara marble; base: wood |
| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. |
| Object history | 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. The mineral 'Labradorite' that is used extensively in this tabletop was rediscovered in Canada in 1770 by Moravian missionaries. It began to be included in scientific minerology collections in Europe shortly after. The stone shimmers in the light displaying shades of blue and green with a pearlescent or metallic effect. These properties meant that it was highly prized in Europe from the late eighteenth-century onwards for use in luxurious decorative furniture and jewellery. Object Provenance History: With Hansord of Lincoln at the 2009 Grosvenor House Fair, where acquired by the present owner. A private collection in Nottinghamshire, by family tradition bought at one of the ‘Dukeries’ sales in the mid-20th century. |
| Production | The following list of stones corresponds with the numbered image of the tabletop (as identified by Sotheby's London, July 2023): 1-Lapis lazuli from Russia; 2-Labradorite; 3-Lapis lazuli 'from Persia'; 4- Amethyst; 5-Agate; 6-Sicilian Jasper; 7-Russian porphyry; 8-Lapis lazuli; 9-Pink chalcedony; 10-Russian stone?; 11- Aushkul jasper; 12-Russian green jasper; 13-Alabaster; 14- Lapis lazuli; 15-Egyptian Alabaster; 16-Black granite; 17-Quartz; 18- malachite; 19-jasper; 20-chalcedony; 21-Red jasper; 22-jasper?; 23-Sicilian jasper; 24-?; 25-Petrified wood; 26- Chalcedony; 27- Red Sicilian jasper; 28-yellow Jasper; 29- Granito bigio; 30- Granito delle Alpi; 31- Alabastro a tartaruga; 32 ?Breccia gialla; 33- Granite; 34-Granito sardo; 35-Porfido serpentino antico; 36-Granito rosso antico minute; 37-Granito della Sedia di San Pietro; 38-Imperial Egyptian porphyry; 39-Porfido serpentino antico; 40- Barga jasper; 41-Lapis lazuli; 42- Sicilian jasper; 43- Serpentina di Corsica; 44- Granito della Sedia di San Pietro; 45-Sicilian jasper; 46-?; 47-Breccia di Roma; 48-Quartz; 49- Russian porphyry; 50-?; 51- verde plasma di Corsica; 52- Rosso antico; 53-Egyptian granite; 54-Breccia verde d'Egitto; 55- Alabaster? (Corsi 296 or 300); 56- Imperial Egyptian porphyry; 57-Porfido verde serpentino antico; 58-Lava di Borghetto?; 59-Sicilian jasper; 60-Granito della Colonna; 61- Egyptian alabastro; 62- Verde plasma di Corsica; 63-Aushkul jasper; 64-Granite; 65-Sicilian jasper; 66-Porfido delle Alpi; 67-Sicilian jasper; 68-Granite; 69-Agate; 70- porfido verde egiziano; 71- Swedish R?d porphyry; 72-granito antico; 73- Black porphyry serpentine?; 74- Granito rosso antico; 75-Granite; 76- Sicilian jasper; 77-Sicilian jasper; 78-Sicilian jasper; 79- Sicilian jasper; 80?; 81-Jasper; 82-Chalcedony; 83-jasper; 84?; 85-jasper; 86-jasper (Russian or Bohemian); 87-Sicilian jasper; 88-jasper (Russian?); 89-jasper; 90-Red jasper; 91-jasper; 92-jasper; 93-jasper; 94-jasper; 95-jasper; 96-jasper; 97-jasper; 98-chalcedony; 99-jasper; 100-jasper; 101-jasper; 102-jasper; 103-jasper; 104-jasper; 105-alabastro a occhi; 106-jasper; 107-jasper; 108-jasper; 109-?; 110-jasper; 111-chalcedony; 112-jasper; 113-jasper; 114?; 115-Chalcedony; 116-jasper; 117-chalcedony; 118-jasper; 119-?; 120-jasper; 121-jasper; 122-Sicilian jasper; 123-breccia Africana; 124-alabastro; 125-jasper; 126-?; 127-Sicilian jasper; 128-jasper; 129?; 130-jasper; 131-?; 132-jasper; 133-petrified wood?; 134-jasper; 135-jasper; 136?; 137-jasper; 138-jasper; 139-jasper; 140-?; 141-?; 142-?; 143-jasper; 144-jasper; 145-jasper; 146?; 147-jasper; 148-jasper; 149 - white statuary marble |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This circular tabletop, of the type known in the nineteenth century as a 'gallery of stones', contains one hundred and forty-eight stone specimens including jasper, agate, porphyry, lapis lazuli, and labradorite. The table rests on a veneered wooden base. Decorative tabletops that included inlaid stone specimens and in particular, samples of ancient marbles, were made as exceptional souvenirs for visitors touring Italy from the eighteenth century. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.1-2023 |
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| Record created | July 11, 2023 |
| Record URL |
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