Two Naples Giustiniani terracotta three-tier table centrepieces, circa 1830

Anonymous sale, Christie's, New York, 20 April 2006, lot 488;

'The Property of a Westchester Collection', sold, Christie's, New York, 19 April 2012, lot 370.

Founded by Nicola Giustiniani around 1760, the Naples manufactory initially produced maiolica, including floor tiles, and creamware. However, it's most successful period was in the early to mid-19th century, under the direction of Biagio, Nicola's grandson. Biagio used a terracotta body to suit new shapes and decoration that were based on Antique prototypes, which were readily available since the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum in the mid-18th century. The publication, at the end of the century, of Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein's three volumes of engravings of the Greek vases in the collection formed by Sir William Hamilton, representative of George III of England to the court at Naples and an avid antiquarian, served to spread knowledge of these wares and to enflame the vogue for all things Antique. Egyptian decorative themes had been equally popular since the end of the 18^th century, thereafter encouraged by the success of the Napoleonic campaigns. The Giustiniani manufactory closed around 1885.