Genoa, Louis XV, 18th Century, Teca

Genoa, Louis XV, 18th century

Teca

Painted wood, cm 77 x 44 x 27

This refined 18th-century Louis XV display case represents an emblematic testimony to Genoese cabinetmaking and interior decoration. In those years, Genoa stood out for its extremely original Rococo style, capable of blending the Baroque sumptuousness of the previous century with a new formal lightness and a completely peculiar pastel chromatic sensitivity. The case has a wavy and curvilinear structure, typical of the Louis XV language, which rejected the rigidity of the straight line in favor of a more lively silhouette. The upper gable is crowned by an elegant rocaille cymatium, where the stylised shell and volute motifs intertwine with a compositional freedom reminiscent of the large stucco decorations of the noble palaces of Via Balbi or Strada Nuova in Genoa. The shaping of the door and glass sides responds to the need to create a play of reflections and transparencies, allowing light to penetrate and enhance the content from multiple angles. What makes this artefact attributable to a Genoese manufacture is the lacquering and gilding technique that was adopted here: unlike Venetian lacquer, often richer in figurative scenes, Genoese decoration of this period preferred the use of a cream or "butter" colored background, enriched with powder blue threads and touches of pink, alternating with gilded leaf-shaped parts.

This display case was not created exclusively as a protective container, but constituted a true decorative furnishing intended for the living rooms or private chapels of patrician families, designed to integrate perfectly with the mirrored walls and silk tapestries (the famous "mezzari" or damask) typical of eighteenth-century Ligurian homes.