Pier table c. 1768
giovannibattistapiranesi
simple decoration style
natural stone pattern
wood texture
decorative element
furniture
sculptural image
3d shape
stoneware
wooden interior design
wooden texture
metal and woodwork
marble
italy
This Pier table, designed by the renowned Italian architect and artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi, is a striking example of Rococo style furniture. Created in the late 18th century, the table features a dramatic and intricate design, adorned with delicate floral motifs and gilded details. The table's three legs, carved in the form of winged sphinxes, further enhance its visual appeal and contribute to its overall grandeur. This piece, housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, showcases Piranesi's mastery in blending classical and ornamental elements, a hallmark of his unique artistic vision.
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This is one of the few pieces of Giovanni Piranesi’s furniture to survive. The versatile Piranesi was a printmaker, archaeologist, architect, and designer. His numerous etchings of Roman ruins contributed greatly to 18th-century Europe’s interest in the ancient world. In 1769 he published Diverse Manners of Ornamenting Chimneys and All Other Parts of Houses, a collection of imaginative designs for clocks, vases, chimneypieces, and even coaches. This table is one of a pair made for the Roman state apartments of a nephew of Pope Clement XIII. Piranesi drew from several ancient designs. He modeled the legs—carved like winged chimeras (mythological monsters, part lion, part goat)—after bronze tripods found at the ruined cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The ox skulls are based on Roman funerary motifs.
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