Cabinet-cabinet with coin holder in walnut root carved and carved with dolls, Genoa 16th/17th century

Front door and casement concealing internal cabinet and architectural elevation with central temple. Classical figures sculpted in the round are placed at the corners and decorate the upper hat. Original window frames of the period.


We call this piece of furniture a bambocci due to the series of full-round carvings of full figures and protomes that decorate both the front and the sides of the entire piece.

This name has ample documentary evidence from the mid-16th century to the mid-17th century.

The diffusion of this furniture took place in Genoa due to the influence of Spain and Flanders.

The Genoese magister lignaminis initially still created bambocci with Nordic or Turkish faces, with bodies cloaked in large robes and heads with turbans and headdresses. Later in the 16th century, figures with Roman clothing appeared.

The piece of furniture in question presents both of these characteristics, which is why we can chronologically place it at the end of the 16th/17th century, the work of master carvers who were part of the Bancalari Corporation whose foundation dates back to the mid-13th century.

In Genoa, such precious furnishings were typical of the Baroque period and adorned the homes of the nobles with preciousness as was appropriate for the city known as the Superb.
The artifact in question is made of wood and walnut root with a double series of structured bambocci on the sides, the under-hat is decorated with a series of six nudes framed both above and below by serrated frames. The sides appear with two bambocci per side that frame a carved arch.
Once the shutter, which has original period frames, has been lowered, three drawers appear on each side, framing an architectural structure composed of a tympanum and a small carved door guarded by a doll, once opened, there is a secret.

ASOR Studio