«Intagliatori d’avolio» a Napoli: due tavoli del Museo civico di Catania

Two ebony and ivory tables (Ca- tania, Castello Ursino Civic Museum), hitherto unknown, are here investigated under the formal aspect, the diffusion and the patronage of these artifacts. The pair is part of a large group of Neapolitan furnishing, and they are similar to in the materials used and in the rich Mannerist decor- ative schemes. These were made in Naples between the last decades of the 16th century and the early 17th century and were linked to the activity of a cabinetmaker known by the name of Iacobo Fiamengo, who was ready to collab- orate with several ivory engravers including Giovanni Battista De Curtis. As in other works of the same group, the scenes on the ivory plaques derive from a series of en- gravings with Stories of Romulus and Remus by Giovanni Battista Fontana between 1573 and 1575. All these artifacts – now preserved in several museums in Naples, Rome, Milan, Madrid, London, Philadelphia and now Catania as well – are still to be investigated from the aspects of pro- duction and collaboration between the different masters who participated in their making.