Exquisite Scagliola Tabletop Depicting a Scene from the Hunt

We have so far introduced a number of tabletops that use stone as their primary decorative ingredient, whether it be the tesserae of mosaic or pietre dure of marble inlay. An new art form that ensued was Scagliola, where imitation stone is created by combining ground selenite with water, animal glue and natural pigments. The resulting mixture is spread or, once hardened, carved into and engraved with a particular design. Finally, it is heavily polished to give the appearance of marble.

The name “scagliola” derives from the Italian word scaglia, meaning “chips,” and though it was taken up with élan in Italy, the technique is thought to have originated in 16th century Bavaria by Blasius Fistulator. He and his son Wilhelm constructed scagliola panels for the famous Reiche Kapelle in Munich for Maximillian I, Duke of Bavaria (1573-1651).

Munich scagliola owes much to Flemish painting and it is clear that the hunting scene depicted on the present tabletop is derived from a Dutch or Flemish old master such as Jan Wildens. Wildens was a Flemish Baroque painter active in Antwerp and Italy, famous for his gentle landscapes (figured below). Landscapes of the Rhineland and its environs share many of the same characteristics: a tree-lined path extending from the foreground beside a river and a distant town in the background. The scenes are often populated by farmers, shepherds, or hunting parties. In the present tabletop, a hunt is taking place in a valley to the left, while two gentlemen on horseback are attended by two servants, one with hounds and the other holding the cadge on which rest the birds used in falconry. There is also an “informality and anecdotal atmosphere” often found in Netherlandish hunting portraits.

"Landscape with Hunters" by Jan Wildens, 1649. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna; http://bilddatenbank.khm.at/viewArtefact?id=2125.

"Landscape with Hunters and Dogs" by Jan Wildens. Adler, Wolfgang. Jan Wildens. Fridingen: Graf Klenau Verlag, 1980. 179.