Details
Carved and gilded wood, veneered with porphyry and banded alabaster
H. 91,8 cm (36 1/8 in.); L. 104,5 cm (41 1/8 in.); P. 60,5 cm (23 ¾ in.)
Provenance
Probably commissioned for the Palazzo Borghese, Rome
Baron Eugène von Rothschild (1884‑1976), Paris
Confiscated during WWII by the ERR, n° R519 – R520, restituted in 1946
Private collection, France
This pair of precious consoles, with their use of porphyry and gilt bronze, are very similar to the consoles made for the Palazzo Borghese, for which they were probably commissioned in the 1780s. Porphyry, the stone of choice for the Borghese family in the tradition of the Roman emperors, was omnipresent at the Palazzo Borghese in a series of busts, vases, and a wall decoration in porphyry veneer.
