Antique Italian 19th century scagliola circular table top

Made in Italy in the nineteenth century, this superb antique piece is a scagliola circular table top, a type of Italian imitative plaster work popular in the 19th century and during the time of the Grand Tour.

It is decorated in the centre with a large landscape or cityscape scene, showing a pair of figures in the front, with some cattle, and Classical ruins in the background. The bottom of the image is adorned liberally with a flowing mix of different colours and tones in blocks, while the figures and the ruins, including the staute on the right, are executed with remarkable skill and a lively, light touch, reminiscnent of Renaissance drawings and sketches.

The landscape is difficult to determine but it could be based on the Foro Romano, or the Campo Vaccino as it was known for much of the middle ages, when the Classical ruins were buried under a large field used for the rearing of cattle, with occasional Roman buildings or arches showing through the earth.

The table top is also mounted in a highly decorative, elegant, blue border, with a series of black bands and beads between the image and the table edge. A fine piece, it represents some of the finest work in scagliola around the time of the Grand Tour.