Antique Empire Frame Elm Wood Italy XIX Century - Italy, Early XIX Century

Oil on canvas. Roman school of the 17th century. The bloody episode of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, also told in the Iliad, originates from the wrath of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, who, offended by Agamemnon for his boasting as a hunter, prevents the Greek fleet from sailing towards Troy; the soothsayer Calchas then prophesies that the wrath of the goddess can only be appeased by sacrificing the youngest daughter of King Agamemnon himself, Iphigenia, and so it happens. In the centre of the scene the girl is depicted prostrate at the foot of the sacrificial altar, while she is being prepared by the priests according to the rituals; in the left corner we can glimpse her father Agamemnon (with the crown abandoned at his feet) with her mother Clytemnestra who, in despair, do not dare to look. Above, the goddess Artemis watches the scene, recognizable by the moon on her hair, the bow she holds in her hand and a deer, her symbolic animal, at the foot of the canopy: according to a less violent version of the myth, at the moment of the sacrifice Iphigenia is replaced by Artemis with a doe, as the presence of the animal in this representation might indicate. The work presented here derives from the painting by Pietro Testa, published between 1640 and 1642 (now at the Galleria Spada in Rome) and from his engravings: the entire composition of the figures is taken from it, although modified in the clothes, colors and various details. Restored and relined, the painting is presented in an early 20th-century frame, contemporary with the restoration.

Nothern Italy, Late XIX - Early XX Century

Sideboard with Art Nouveau upper part made of larch wood, Northern Italy late 19th - early 20th century. Riser with three-door front with artistic stained glass panes; sideboard body with marbled-effect lacquered top, front with pair of side doors and row of six central drawers. Decorated with carvings depicting fans and lozenge elements.

Italy, Mid XIX Century

Wooden candelabra, carved, lacquered and gilded with mecca. Italy, mid-19th century.

England, First Quarter XIX Century

English George IV flap with upper display cabinet, England first quarter of the 19th century. Showcase in early twentieth century style with two doors with blown glass; on the front of the flap there is a concealed cabinet door with drawers and morocco insert, pair of side pulls and five drawers. Both the door and the cabinet have inlay decorations in maple and green-stained maple. Further embellished with maple threads and mahogany borders. Oak interior. There are small deficiencies in the veneering.

Oil on canvas. Roman school of the 17th century. In classical mythology, the goddess Venus, wife of Vulcan, had him forge weapons for her son Aeneas. In the scene, set in the cave where the forge is located, Vulcan is in fact forging a suit of armor on the anvil, with the help of his assistants, while Venus, accompanied by the faithful Cupid, arrives to check the work. Thetis, the sea nymph mother of Achilles, also commissioned the weapons for her son to the same god Vulcan, to protect him during the Trojan War. Restored and relined, the painting has a loss of color at the top right. It is presented in an early 1900s frame, contemporary to the restoration.

England, Late XIX Century

Coffee table with openable top, of English production, supported by a turned baluster resting on a moved tripod. In mahogany.

Italy, Late XIX Century

Walnut dressing table, central drawer and spool legs, tilting mirror with two-drawer backsplash. Italy, third quarter of the 19th century.

Oil on canvas. The portrait of a gentleman is accompanied by the inscription at the top left "Paulus Castellanus Sanator". The word Castellanus could be the surname, very common and identifying the inhabitant of a castle, not necessarily the lord but a member of the family. The term Sanator identifies the man as a healer, the family doctor. The painting is presented in an antique frame.

Emilia Romagna, XIX Century

Louis Philippe desk of Emilian production, supported by turned legs, on the front it has a drawer surmounted by an under-counter band with a characteristic groove, in which there is another drawer. Veneered and inlaid in maple and cherry, poplar interior.

Oil on canvas. The subject depicted tells a biblical episode from the Old Testament: Susanna, the beautiful and chaste wife of Joachim, a rich Jew, is threatened by two elderly judges of the people while she is bathing in her garden. This episode has been widely reproduced in art, as an opportunity to exalt female beauty and condemn sinful voluptuousness. In the scene, the female figure of Susanna, half-dressed, sits in the foreground on the left, on the balustrade of a gushing fountain in the garden, intent on immersing herself, but pointing with her hand to the two old men on the right, who are spying on her, hidden behind a bush. Unusual in the scene is the figure of the other woman, probably a maidservant of Susanna, also half-dressed, probably introduced to further exalt female nudity. In the background appears the garden of the villa, characterized by symmetrical and regular flower beds. Also peculiar is the presence, in the distance behind Susanna's head, of three stylized figures, who seem to run towards her, perhaps to warn her of danger. The work, in the first canvas, has a slight break in the upper left, and small spots of paint. It is presented in an early 1900's frame.