A RARE ITALIAN PORPHYRY MODEL OF A WINE BARREL ON STAND

A RARE ITALIAN PORPHYRY MODEL OF A WINE BARREL ON STAND

IN THE MANNER OF BENEDETTO BOSCHETTI OR GIACOMO RAFFAELLI, MID-19TH CENTURY

the barrel carved from Egyptian Imperial red porphyry with ribbed decoration and incised lines to simulate staved construction, with a gilt bronze stopper engraved with the Visconti family coat of arms, with a tap with a dolphin handle and a beast spout, the porphyry and gilt bronze stand with ram supports, engraved with an inscription 'Ioannes Card Visconti' and 'Milano Anno 1340'

32.4cm high,16.5cm wide, 46.5cm long

Provenance

Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942)

Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009)

The Trustees of Exbury House

Catalogue Note

The term porphyry is from the Ancient Greek 'porphyra' meaning purple. In antiquity purple was the colour of royalty and combined with its hardness Egyptian porphyry became very much prized for monuments and building projects in Imperial Rome and thereafter.

Giovanni Visconti (c.1290-1354) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal who was co-ruler of Milan and Pavia. The present lot is possibly a commemorative piece celebrating 500 years of the Visconti family in 1840.

We would like to thank Dario Del Bufalo for his assistance and advice in cataloguing this lot.