Carving attributed to Giovanni Battista Dolci the Elder (active c. 1738-c. 1772)

Gilding attributed to Francesco Ristori and Vittorio Frangini (active c. 1765)

Gilded wood and period mirror glass. Height 87 1/2 inches, 37 1/2 inches depth.

Comparative literature: E. Colle, ed., I Mobili di Palazzo Pitti: il primo periodo lorenese, 1737-1799, Florence, 1992, pp. 150-151, figs. 78-80.

This Rococo elongated rectangular frame has a shaped inner and outer molded edges enclosing mirrored reserves joined by scrolling leaf-carved brackets, surmounted by a scroll and leaf-carved pediment centering a reticulated leaf and rocaille-carved cartouche, the base is of undulating outline with similar carving.

Dolci was the founder of a dynasty of gifted carvers (intagliatori), who worked extensively for the Grand Dukes of Tuscany in the eighteenth century. As the most talented and recognized carver active in Florence, he supplied a multitude of console tables, chairs, stools, mirrors, frames, candlesticks and chandeliers to the Guardaroba for use in Palazzo Pitti, Villa del Poggio Imperiale, Villa di Poggio a Caiano, and other ducal residences. The gilders Ristori and Frangini are documented as working with Dolci in the 1760s. This mirror corresponds with one, supplied by Dolci in June of 1769 for the Palazzzo della Crocetta, which was described as carved 'alla francese' with 'fiori sul mezzo che detti fiori girano a tutto il contorno' (see Colle, p. 151).