Attributed to
Lorenzo de Ferrari (designer)
Italian, 1680-1744

Originally made for the Galleria Dorata (Golden Gallery) in the Palazzo Carrega-Cataldi, Genoa, this table, one of a pair in the Museum’s collection, is a splendid example of the opulent furniture commissioned by wealthy Italians in the 18th century. The table’s mythological maenads (woodland nymphs with the legs of goats) and cupid-like putti (“boys”) fit into the Golden Gallery’s classical theme.

The table was originally placed against a wall beneath a mirror; the shape of the marble top indicates that it also was designed to fit into a recess. Mirrors were used to create an atmosphere of lightness and spaciousness and to unify the room’s decorative scheme, with the mirrors’ frames linked in form and gilding to the furnishings and other decorative embellishments in the room. The scrolling legs, elegant and sensuous curving shapes, and rich decoration of this table indicate how spectacular the overall effect must have been with the table was in its original setting.

Gilded gesso over wood; marble top, about 1742-44
Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott, 1978.31