BY FILIPPO GIACOMO BERINO, TURIN, CIRCA 1740

Details

A NORTH ITALIAN ORMOLU-MOUNTED ROSEWOOD, KINGWOOD AND IVORY-INLAID COMMODE
BY FILIPPO GIACOMO BERINO, TURIN, CIRCA 1740
The serpentine top inlaid with rural scenes and strapwork, the left scene signed 'BERINO FECIT', above one long and six short drawers conformingly decorated and with satyr mask escutcheons, the sides decorated with a cartouche centred by a figure under a lambrequin, on rounded bracket feet; remounted and probably originally conceived with four long drawers
37 in. (94 cm.) high; 52 ½ in. (133 cm.) wide, 24 in. (61 cm.) deep

Provenance

Purchased by the present vendor in Dinant, Belgium, in 2002.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction. This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Paul Gallois

pgallois@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2260

Lot Essay

Filippo Giacomo Berino (active between 1757-1776) is one of a few recorded Turinese ébénistes working alongside Luigi Prinotto (1685-1780) and the celebrated Pietro Piffetti (1701-1777). While little is known of Berino, his name appears on a bill dated 1757 for the delivery of a ‘burrò con guarniture d’ottone’ (brass-mounted bureau), to the Royal lodge Veneria Reale, near Turin, for which he was paid the sum of 180 lire. Berino is further recorded in 1763 as a member of the University of Turin's vetting committee responsible for the granting of the ‘maîtrise’ to aspiring ébénistes. The only other currently known signed and dated work by Berino is a rosewood, walnut and fruitwood-banded and ivory-inlaid bureau cabinet with an engraved ivory scene dated 1741, and published in R. Antonetto, Il Mobile Piemontese nel Settecento, Turin, 2010, vol.1, pp. 298-9. The commode here proposed appears to be unrecorded and unpublished.

With its delicately waved shape and idiosyncratic ebony inlay, this commode is somewhat reminiscent of a pair of commodes with richer ivory inlays attributed to the master ébéniste Pietro Piffetti. The first of which almost certainly purchased by John Alexander, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896) for Longleat, Wiltshire, and by descent at Longleat, sold Christies London, 13-14 June 2002, lot 472, and its later discovered pair, which appeared in 2005 on the French auction market, both illustrated and discussed in R. Antonetto, op. cit., p. 282.

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