18th century, Courtly scenes, wood and ivory

early eighteenth century

Courteous scenes

(6) Wood and ivory, 12,5 x 17 cm

The work is accompanied by a Cites Community Certificate

The six elegant ivories applied on wood analyzed here depict various epic scenes. The episodes depict moments of combat and military life: we see warriors ready to assault the walls of a fortified city, moments of negotiation and surrender, races on chariots pulled by galloping horses. Of particular interest is the scene where a soldier takes the helmet off a defeated enemy, who turns out to be an enchanting woman with long hair. The episode could refer to canto XII of Gerusalemme Liberata, an epic-heroic poem in octaves written by Torquato Tasso, in the period before 1575 and concerning the capture of the Holy Sepulcher by the Christians during the first Crusade of 1096-1099. The song in question narrates the episode of the night duel between Tancredi, general of the first crusade against the Turks of Jerusalem, and Clorinda, an Ethiopian princess of the Muslim religion, who arrived in the Holy City to fight the invaders. Tancredi will discover the identity of her beloved once she is fatally wounded and only after having removed the helmet from her head. Even the panel where the Lord of the Underworld is represented in the presence of a florid woman scantily dressed and a bearded man can refer to the fourth canto of the poem, which tells of an infernal council, evoked by the magician Idraote, who sends the seductive sorceress Armida at the Christian camp to wreak havoc. The meticulous rendering of the details, the armor and the scenic layout in which the figures are inserted is striking in the burin-engraved ivories. The rectangular shape and the material with which the tiles are made suggest that they could originally have been inserts of a precious monetary cabinet.

With Ars Antiqua it is possible to defer all amounts up to €7.500 at ZERO INTEREST, for a total of 15 INSTALLMENTS.

E.g. Total €4.500 = Monthly installment €300 for 15 months.

E.g. Total €3.600 = Monthly installment €720 for 5 months.

For amounts exceeding €7.500 or for a longer period of time (over 15 installments), we can provide a personalized payment.

Contact us directly to get the best quote.

LIVE

– SUNDAY 17.00pm – 21.00pm Dig. terr. 126 + 813 SKY

– Streaming on our website www.arsantiquasrl.com and on our social networks Facebook and Youtube

All the works proposed by Ars Antiqua are sold accompanied by a certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law and an accurate information sheet.

It is possible to see the works directly at the showroom gallery in Milan, in via Pisacane 55 and 57.

We personally organize transport and deliveries of the works, both for Italy and abroad.