An Italian carved white marble tazza, Rome, circa 1800, in the manner of Lorenzo Cardelli

This splendid tazza showcasing beautifully carved reliefs present key characteristics of the neoclassical style which dominated the art scene in Europe from the late 18^th century. Three interwoven handles evoking snakes were applied to the smooth surface of the bowl, while inside, on the bottom, Mercury's mask is depicted surrounded by pointed leaves arranged radially. The whole is raised on a waisted socle ornamented with egg and dart and guilloche friezes, gadroons and fluting.

The present example is related to a pair of tazze by Lorenzo Cardelli, one in rosso antico and the other in giallo antico in the collections of the Borghese Galleria in Rome. Originally the tazza in rosso antico (inv. no. CCXXI) was placed on a table in the Stanza del Sileno, together with another tazza in yellow alabaster forming its pendant before, being moved to the Stanza Egizia. Both tazze are dated to 1781/82 when a number of documents of the Borghese administration mention payments made to the "Intagliatore di marmi" (marble carver) Lorenzo Cardelli (1733-1794).

Just like our example, the handles of these tazze are close in design to those found on the Warwick vase, an Ancient Roman re-discovered in 1771 and now in the Burrell Collection near Glasgow in Scotland. Cardelli’s Borghese tazze however show small differences in comparison to the present. Indeed, the present tazza, uses a different type of stone, and features additional reliefs, namely the motifs featured on the socle, and the beading around the rim of the bowl as well as additional leaves radiating around Mercury’s mask. While the identity this tazza's maker remains unknown, the could well have been made by Cardelli or by one of his established contemporaries and known collaborators such as Francesco Antonio Franzoni (1734-1818) and Giovanni Ferrari (1744-1826), the later who interestingly first trained under Cardelli and subsequently under Franzoni.