Description
Workshop of Valentino Panciera Besarel – Carved wood writing table. Venice, 19th century.
A refined writing table entirely carved in wood, raised on a tripod base with crossed faux bamboo legs joined by an X-form stretcher. The book-shaped hinged top is finely engraved with floral motifs and fitted with brass clasps and hinges. Surmounting the top is an elaborate carved wood group depicting a reclining putto in the act of writing with a quill, flanked by an inkwell and two small pots, resting on a shaped base carved with acanthus leaves and a central mask.
The piece can be attributed to the Venetian workshop of Valentino Panciera Besarel, a sculptor active in Venice in the second half of the 19th century, renowned for the naturalistic flair of his carved compositions, often animated by putti and exotic-taste subjects, as seen here in the faux bamboo legs, a typical element of the chinoiserie fashion popular in late 19th-century Venetian furnishing.
Condition report: Overall good condition, with minor age-related wear consistent with the period. The lid of one of the two small pots is missing.
