171

A pair of ivory plaques, Italy, late 17th early 18th

Weight I: 127.5 g. Weight II: 118.5 g

Antique pair of carved elephant ivory plaques (Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 or Loxodonta africana Blumenbach, 1797) depicting a male bust in relief accompanied by identifying inscriptions on the front and biographical notes on the back, within frames painted in imitation tortoiseshell.

The first plaque depicts a man with the inscription IOANNES MARIANA above, corresponding to the Spanish historian Juan de Mariana (1536–1624); on the reverse side, the transcription reads: “A Spanish historian of the Jesuit order, author of the History of Spain in 30 volumes... born in Talavera in Castile, died in Toledo aged 87 in 1624.” One word is indecipherable.

The second plaque shows the bust of a man with the inscription PETRUS GASSENDUS above it, identifiable as the French philosopher and mathematician Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655); on the reverse side, the inscription reads: “An Eminent mathematician and philosopher, born in France wrote the Life of Tycho Brahe died aged 63 A.D. 1655.”

The two plaques together form part of a series of portraits of illustrious men of the Italian Renaissance, probably intended for antique collectors and scholars. The preciousness of the ivory and the painted tortoiseshell frames testify to a cultured and refined taste linked to the rediscovery of humanism and antiquity.

Height x diameter frames: 14.5 x 12 cm/1

Height x diameter ivory I: 11.5 x 8.2 cm

Height x diameter ivory II: 11.5 x 8 cm

This lot, accompanied by a CITES certificate and expertise issued by Ce.S.Ar Centro studi archeometici, is only available for sale with shipments within the European Union. (expertise Ce.S.Ar. 2025-224)

Provenance:
Count Luigi Rigi Luperti collection.