Law Office, Milanese Workshop, 1860.

Law Office, Milanese Workshop, 1860.
Sideboard, Milan, 1860.
Ebonized ribera wood, rosewood veneer, ebony overlay, and ivory inlay.
Shows signs of restoration.
Comes with a CITES certificate issued by Italy.
Measurements: 205 x 124 x 47 cm.

A monumental sideboard consisting of two superimposed sections, crafted in the Milanese cabinetmaking workshops around 1860. With an architectural design and historicist inspiration, it stands out for its hallmarks: ebonized wood, rosewood, and profuse ivory marquetry.The lower section features doors and panels decorated with classical figures and plant motifs. The upper section is centered around a large central semicircular arch, flanked by side sections, with rich ornamentation featuring human figures, medallions, and geometric and plant motifs. The central ivory figure stands out, serving as the visual focal point of the composition.

It is important to contextualize the piece within the significant cabinetmaking tradition of Milan, a city that during the 19th century maintained a thriving artistic and artisanal scene, linked both to the heritage of Italian furniture and to the historicist revival of the decorative arts.Milanese workshops inherited a long tradition of working with fine woods, luxury cabinetmaking, marquetry, and inlay work. During the 19th century, this artisanal culture was enriched by the revival of Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque styles, giving rise to furniture with an architectural character, symmetrical compositions, and particularly elaborate ornamentation. The use of ebonized woods, rosewood, and ivory inlays made it possible to achieve strong chromatic hallmarks and highly sophisticated decorative effects.A key figure in this tradition was Giuseppe Maggiolini (1738–1814), whose renowned workshop in Parabiago, near Milan, achieved great prestige for its refined marquetry and mastery of precious woods. His legacy helped consolidate a culture of luxury furniture that continued to exert influence throughout the 19th century. Around 1860, this tradition found new expressions in workshops such as that of Ferdinando Pogliani, a representative of a generation of cabinetmakers who developed a historicist style, reviving Renaissance models and combining architectural structures with sumptuous materials and figurative marquetry.