Catalogue Roberti Fine Art, TEFAF Maastricht 2026 (1) compressed - Flipbook - Page 46
Fig. 4. Jacques Stella, Annunciation, 1628. oil on
canvas, 400 x 294 cm. Cathedral of Amelia, Amelia.
Objects of this refinement achieved particular prominence during the pontificate of Urban VIII
Barberini (162331644), when they were frequently employed as diplomatic gifts. Only some of the
central paintings can be attributed with certainty to named artists, for archival sources more often
record the cabinetmakers and coronari 4the specialists in hardstone cutting 4 responsible for
their overall execution.² Accounts from the administration of Cardinal Francesco Barberini note, for
example, a 1633 payment to the coronaro Francesco Bottaciolo for an ebony work with a gem-set
frieze and large chased silver leaves framing a Virgin of the Annunciation painted on lapis lazuli.³
Among the silversmiths active in this milieu, Francesco Spagna (circa 160231640), scion of a busy
and successful Tuscan family active in Rome, is frequently cited.⁴ The refinement of the chasing
and the elegance of invention suggest that a master of comparable standing may have been
responsible for the silver mounts of the present work.
Based on an entry by Roberto Valeriani
¹60 x 31 cm.; see A. González-Palacios, Il Mobile a Roma dal Rinascimento al Barocco, Rome 2022, p. 239,
reproduced fig. 149.
²See the exhibition Meraviglie senza tempo. Pittura su pietra a Roma tra Cinquecento e Seicento, ed. by Francesca
Cappelletti and Patrizia Cavazzini (eds), Rome, Villa Borghese, 2022; and González-Palacios, Il Mobile a Roma…op.
cit., pp. 238-258.
³A. González-Palacios, Concerning Furniture: Roman Documents and Inventories, in
