ATTRIBUTED TO THE FANTONI WORKSHOP, LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY

This type of boldly carved scrolled acanthus mirror was produced in various centres in Italy including Lombardy, Veneto and Rome in the late 17th-first half 18th Century. Carvers were inspired by engravings such as those executed by the ornemantiste Filippo Passarini (1638-1698) in 'Nuove invenzioni d'ornamenti d'architettura e d'intagli diversi', published in Rome in 1698 (see E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milano, 2000, p.110, pl.24). Possibly conceived en suite with a console table, the mirror here offered is reminiscent of the work executed by the workshop of the Fantoni family in Rovetta (near Bergamo). One of the leading names in the art of 'Intaglio', Andrea Fantoni (1659-1734) came from a dynasty of carvers renowned for their celebrated work in churches around Bergamo as early as the mid-15th Century. With his brothers Donato and Gian Battista, Andrea led the workshop and florished in the production of such sought-after mirrors. The Lombard Fantoni was clearly influenced by the works of Andrea Brustolon (1662-1692). Designs and drawings relating to this type of mirror are in the Fondazione Fantoni in Rovetta. (op. cit. p.386, pl.96, and C.Alberici, Il Mobile Lombardo, Milano, 1969, pp.96-97). A related mirror was sold, Christie's London, 23 June 1999, lot 99 (also illustrated in E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milano, 2000, p.112), while another in the collection of Marchese Patrizio Naro Montoro is illustrated in G. Lizzani, Il Mobile Romano, Milano, 1970, p. 68, ill. 105.