An Italian Empire wall bracket
Carved and gilt softwood, painted in colours and white, marble top. An important and monumental wall bracket with carved decor depicting two winged lions supporting the architrave and marble top. The closed back panel flanked by two pilasters. The base painted to imitate black and green serpentine. Two open shrinkage cracks to the back panel, partially retouched repairs and subsequent cracks. H 106, W 181, D 95 cm.
Milan, attributed to Leopold Pollack, ca. 1800.
Count Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso commissioned Leopold Pollack to design the Villa Reale, formerly known as the Villa Belgioso Bonaparte, as a residence for his old age, and the building was completed between 1790 and 1796. The Italian Republic purchased the palace following his death, and it was later used by Napoleon Bonaparte and his family. Napoleon's adopted stepson Eugène Beauharnais also resided there with his wife Auguste of Bavaria in 1805, shortly after being appointed Viceroy of France. Following the victory over the French, the building changed hands several times before becoming property of the state and being converted into a museum in 1920.
Nothing remains of the original furnishings apart from a few brackets and candlesticks purchased by its first owner. Each of its subsequent residents changed the interior to conform to contemporary tastes, parting with the former furnishings. Much was also lost following the end of WWI. Today, some of the original pieces from the palace are displayed in the Museo delle Arti Decorative in the Castello Sforzesco.
Provenance
Former Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte, now Villa Reale, Milan.
Private ownership, Germany.
Literature
A similar Lombard bracket, dated later, in: Colle, Italian Empire Furniture, Milan, 1998, p. 267.