41.5 x 069 cm (16 ³/₈ x 27 ¹/₈ inches)

Detail Description

The tazza is formed of two pieces; a broad basin with a beaded border above an egg and dart everted rim and two mascarons on each side, and an elegant base with twisted fluting. The marble bowl has been carved to an exquisite thinness, a mere three millimetres at certain points, allowing light to pass through it and highlight the delicate frieze of laurel leaves. Encircling the rim of the bowl in a feat of spectacular precision, a row of marble beads demonstrates the impressive level of skill in the tazza’s manufacture. It is exceptional that such a perfect and finely worked bowl could be made from one piece of marble in the early years of the nineteenth century.