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Artist/Designer Pietro Belloni , Italian, 1690-1771

Title

Black Scagliola Tabletop with a Landscape

Datec.1746-1750

MediumInlaid selenite coloured plaster composition

Dimensions

3.9 x 96.7 x 75.2 cm

Credit LineMilltown Gift, 1902

Object numberNGI.12258

Label TextScagliola, a mix of powdered plaster, glue and pigment, was applied as a black surface layer on furniture. Decorative motifs were etched into it. It was a painstaking technique and Belloni was a slow worker. He created this decorative table top, which now sits on a modern base, over a four-year period. The style betrays the influence of oil painter Giuseppe Zocchi (1711-1767). A larger table top by Belloni, dated 1750, which has been reunited with its original gilt legs, is on loan to Russborough House, Co. Wicklow, where it can be seen in the hall.