"Dos d'âne" bureau inlaid with fine woods and petrified inserts, Piedmont, mid-18th century

The whole piece reveals a cultured and refined decorative conception, typical of the great Piedmontese cabinetmaking of the eighteenth century, with evident stylistic affinities with the production of Pietro Piffetti (Turin, 1701–1777), the greatest cabinetmaker of the Savoy court, whose creations influenced numerous local cabinetmakers and objects intended for both private collectors and aristocratic clients, representing an elegant example of refined and functional decorative cabinetmaking. Piffetti brought to Turin a level of refinement and elegance comparable to the great French manufacturers, distinguishing himself however for a more graphic taste and for an extraordinary skill in the combination of wood essences, often used as if they were colors on a palette. This piece of furniture seems to fit precisely into that tradition, despite the lack of sufficient elements for its direct attribution, probably as a work of a workshop or of followers active in Piedmont in the second half of the eighteenth century, when the master's language was widely taken up and reinterpreted. These analogies are to be understood in a stylistic sense and cultural, in the absence of elements useful for a direct attribution. 94x79x48 cm