FALCINI BROTHERS. LUIGI FALCINI (Campi, 1794 - Florence, 1861) AND ANGIOLO FALCINI (Campi, 1801 - Florence, 1850).
Valuable coffee table. Florence, ca. 1830.
Ebonised wood, fruitwood marquetry and mother-of-pearl inlay.
In two pieces.
Measurements:78 cm high; 1'79 cm diameter.
Important coffee table produced in the Florentine workshop of the brothers Luigio and Angiolo Falcini. The exquisite inlay on the ebonised wood top is the bearer of an inimitable refinement. As was usual in the works of the Italian brothers, inlaid mother-of-pearl and precious stones are combined with fruitwood marquetry, resulting in sensuous floral designs and vases covering the entire wood. Thus, the octagonal-shaped top is developed in the form of a rosette with nesting roundels that house splendid inlaid and marquetry compositions. The support, with scrolled legs, is also covered with the same inlay work.
The Falcini brothers brought the aristocratic taste for inlaid work back to Florence, renewing the courtly models of the late Medici. Their ornamental repertoire has been compared to the floral calepini and the cabinetmaking of Leonardo Van der Vinne. They focused mainly on the production of table tops for the great families of Florence, while participating in the international exhibitions of their time. Part of the furniture of the Villa Demidoff in Pratolino, later acquired by the State Gallery of Modern Art in Florence, consisted of tables by the Falcini brothers. They were commissioned by Prince Anatolio Demidoff.
The two cabinetmakers, who came from a family of woodcutters from Campi Bisenzio near Florence, moved to the city and opened this important cabinetmaking workshop, which we know of from 1834. The workshop was at its peak until Luigi's death in 1861; to a lesser extent the activity was carried on by his sons until at least 1882. The Falcini brothers' workshop, which specialised in marquetry, worked on commissions from the Grand Ducal family and the most noble Florentine families. This table also has the characteristics that unite the works of the workshop, such as the quality of the decoration, the dense but neat floral marquetry, the absolute precision in the cutting and in the combination of the various materials (light, coloured and stained wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl), often set against the black ebony background. They moved from the province and set up their workshop in Florence, Italy (around 1834-36), which was later run by Luigi's sons, Alessandro and Cesare.