Wow. Love it.
This elegant, sophisticated pietra dura. mosaic popped up on EBay on Sept. 18, 2020, with an asking price of $2,500. Per the seller, it’s a Montici executed by Calderani in 1956, it sold for $2,750 on November 6, 2020.
The seller was very knowledegable regarding Montici mosaics, as evidenced by the professional description accompanying the artwork:
It perhaps explains why the piece was priced so low — it’s missing its Montici logo.
“…This Richard Blow pietre dure plaque is missing the iconic ‘M’ cipher, which apparently became dislodged and lost sometime during its previous ownership. I acquired the work in its current condition. The hole for the missing Murano glass cipher ‘M’ is there, and is three millimeters in diameter, which is consistent with the diameter of the cipher signature possessed by all other known Montici works, large or small. The frame is clearly an original Montici. The design is definitively in Blow’s style, with the characteristic subtle touches of his vision, such as the bowl held for the acrobat’s reflective gaze, the charismatic selection of stone, and the intricacy of the overall composition. On the reverse is the signature ‘X – 1956 Calderani’. This form of dating & signature (of the shop and/or craftsman that implemented the design) appears on the verso of perhaps a dozen Monticis I’ve observed, virtually always from the 1950’s, and usually with either Calderani’s or Fracassini’s name. A majority of them date from the period following Richard Blow’s auto accident in the US in 1954, the severe injuries from which kept him from returning to his atelier in Italy until 1957. I have included photos of the versos of two other Monticis that also possess this dating & signing – these are the last two of the seven photos, and are not representations of the work for sale, which itself is shown in the first five photos. This work measures 10.25 x 9.875 inches framed, and 6.25 x 5.875 by sight. The frame condition is good, with normal wear commensurate with its age. The plaque has an apparent repair to the left lower corner, which may be related to the missing cipher, and a few scratches.”
I personally don’t buy reputed Montici mosaics missing a logo But given the seller’s excellent, detailed analysis— and the fact that it sports a correct size hole where the logo would normally be placed — I would have been tempted to bid. Montici or not, it’s a wonderful piece
Michael Schmicker