Attributed to Pietro Piffetti (1701–Turin–1777).

Turin, 1750 circa. Side table, probably meant to be used next to an altar in a private chapel. The moulded top richly inlaid with scrolls and four ‘C’s typical of Pietro Piffetti’s repertoire, to be found two on the front corners and two on the sides of an elaborate cartouche on the front. The cartouche representing a scene with Saint Bruno in a grotto, kneeling in prayer in front of a cross set in the rocks. In the background one can firmly identify the Charterhouse of Serra San Bruno, Calabria, where the saint retired to in the latter part of his life. The saint wears the cloth of the Carthusian order, his hands clasped in prayer, his head nimbused.The rear part of the top does not present elaborate inlays, but the rich veneer in walnut is framed by a fine thread in boxwood. The skirt on the front, below the top, is moulded and rounded, with rich inlaid scrolls mirroring those on the top, and with a large Piffetti’s ‘C’ inlaid at centre, crowned by a floral garland and a hidden drawer. The side skirts complement the front one, with a drawer on each side, in addition to a fourth, secret one below the top. The top rests onto four moulded legs, also veneered, with three-dimensional scrolls typicall of Piffetti’s production, resting onto four finely shaped walnut horse hoofs. With a walnut structure and veneered in a variety of walnut root coming from Sardinia, with inlays in rosewood and purplewood, the present table is unique and testifies to the technical virtuosity of Pietro Piffetti. Compared to the production of his contemporaries, such as Luigi Prinotto, Pietro Piffetti’s works stand out for their scrolling lines, which give the sense of continuous motion. Distinctive and particularly original in the present piece is the use of the plastic shapes and the inlays. Whether the scrolls on the legs spurt out into three-dimensional space, the shells on both the tabletop and the surrounding skirts create the effect of receding space in trompe l’oeil. These two elements work together to create a playful effect of concave and convex typical of Piffetti’s oeuvre. A distinctive motif of barocchetto, the shell is for Piffetti a recurring element, and in the present piece it appears repeatedly, taking centre stage on all the surfaces. The ingenious and playful effect created through the veins of the purplewood used for the veneer, framed by threads in inlaid boxwood, is also part of Piffetti’s production. On the front skirt these are used to draw attention to the central inlaid garland. Although the present object is a unique example in its category, it beautifully exemplifies Pietro Piffetti’s virtuosity.