Antique Grand Tour Abaster Plaque of Great Men of the Renaissance c.1820 19th C

Sold

Contact Dealer To Purchase

Object Description

A beautiful Italian Florentine Grand Tour framed alabaster plaque, decorated with foliage, featuring great men of the Renaissance, circa 1820 in date.

The engraved plaque features a large central cameo of Dante Alighieri in profile surrounded by eight smaller cameos depicting:

Galileo Galilei, Francesco Petrarca, Michel de Montaigne,
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

Add some historic charm to your home with this lovely plaque.

Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:
Height 49 x Width 49 x Depth 5

Dimensions in inches:
Height 19.3 x Width 19.3 x Depth 2.0

Dante Alighieri,

Or simply Dante (c. 1265 – September 14, 1321), was an Italian poet from Florence. His central work, the Commedia (Divine Comedy), is considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In Italian he is known as “the Supreme Poet” (il Sommo Poeta). Dante and the Divine Comedy have been a source of inspiration for artists for almost seven centuries. Dante, with Petrarch and Boccaccio are also known as “the three fountains”. Dante is also called “the Father of the Italian language”. The first biography written on him was by his contemporary Giovanni Villani. The most famous section in La Divina Commedia is the first third of it, the first 34 cantos of the poem, called Inferno, which is Dante’s vision of hell.

Alabaster – is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite also known as onyx-marble, Egyptian alabaster or Oriental alabaster.

In general, but not always, ancient Alabaster in Egypt and the Near & Middle East is calcite. Alabaster in medieval Europe is gypsum. Modern Alabaster is probably calcite, but may be either. Both are easy to ‘work’ and as both are slightly water soluble, have been used for making a variety of indoor artworks and carvings, as they will not survive long outdoors.

The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as an ornamental stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases and halls. Alabaster is also used widely by the sculptors.

In Europe, the centre of the alabaster trade today is Florence, Italy.

Our reference: 09698

Object Details

Dealer Opening Times

We are open weekly as follows:

Monday
10:00 - 17:00
Tuesday
10:00 - 17:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 17:00
Thursday
10:00 - 17:00
Friday
10:00 - 17:00
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

Dealer Contact

Telephone
+44 (0)20 8809 9605
Web
Email

Dealer Location

Manor Warehouse
318 Green Lanes
London
N4 1BX

Please note that we are also open on alternate Saturdays. Please call to confirm.

View Map