IMPORTANT EIGHT-PANEL SCREEN PAINTED WITH ALLEGORICAL TROPHIES

IMPORTANT EIGHT-PANEL SCREEN PAINTED WITH ALLEGORICAL TROPHIES Northern Italy (probably Lombardy or Veneto) or French area, last quarter of the 18th century (1770-1790) Elegant and rare eight-panel screen with wooden frames, covered with tempera-painted canvases, joined by original wrought iron hinges, entirely decorated on the front with a refined cycle of monochrome allegorical trophies in golden ocher tones on a dark green background. Each panel features a different composition suspended by a ribbon, within shaped reserves in the neoclassical taste, depicting attributes of the arts, music, architecture, navigation, hunting, agriculture, and abundance, according to an articulated iconographic program typical of European Enlightenment culture of the second half of the 18th century. Among the figurative elements, the following stand out: • musical instruments and scores; • temples and classical architecture; • boats and symbols of navigation; • hunting trophies with quivers, arrows, game bags, game, and birds of prey; • woven baskets, bunches of grapes, and produce from the land; • tools of the arts and sciences; • allegorical medallions; • a rare representation of a monkey in front of a mirror with a mask, a refined allegory of Vanitas, imitation, and appearance, an unusual subject in the decoration of furniture of this kind. The ensemble reveals a figurative culture close to French ornamental models of the Louis XVI taste, widely adopted in the manufactories of Northern Italy, where the theme of the trophée constituted one of the main decorative repertoires of the time. The back preserves a sober decoration of panels on a dark background, in keeping with the custom of screens intended for representative rooms. Due to its dimensions, completeness, decorative quality, and iconographic richness, it is a piece of furniture of particular interest, difficult to find on the antique market. Dimensions • Height: 202 cm • Width of each panel: 50 cm • Number of panels: 8 • Total width: 400 cm • Frame thickness: 3 cm Period: last quarter of the 18th century The decorative repertoire belongs to the tradition of large trophées d'attributs, derived from French ornamental inventions disseminated through engravings and decorative models in the second half of the 18th century. The succession of the eight compositions does not appear random but builds an articulated symbolic journey dedicated to the arts, human activities, abundance, classical culture, and moral reflection, giving the screen a value that goes beyond simple ornamental function. After carefully analyzing all the photographs, this does not seem like a normal 18th-century decorative screen to me. The presence of the monkey with the mask reflected in the mirror, the medallions with classical architecture, the boat, the hunting trophies, and the attributes of the arts suggest the existence of a unified iconographic program, likely conceived for an aristocratic or learned residence.