A mechanical bestiary Automaton Clocks of the Renaissance -------- [ ENGLISH TEXT ]

Paris 2016. 1 Volume/1. -- as new -- Hardback - Quarto size ( 30 x 21,2 cm )(.1440 gr ). -------- 200 pages. 255 illustrations. ******************** Présentation éditeur : "" Three materials, considered precious in all civilisations, were combined in a unique way in Naples in the first half of the 18th century to create extraordinary objects using a crazy technique called piqué . The light makes the gold dots sparkle, reveals the iridescence of the mother-of-pearl and penetrates the dark translucency of the tortoiseshell. These luxurious objects were made between 1720 and 1760 for connoisseurs and the court, in particular for Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples in 1734, who transformed his kingdom into one of the most resplendent and cosmopolitan courts in Europe. The artists known as Tartarugari , the most famous of whom was Giuseppe Sarao, had their shops on the square in front of the royal palace. They perfected the secret of welding and moulding tortoiseshell using boiling water and olive oil, as well as inlaying gold and mother-of-pearl into the softened tortoiseshell, creating extravagant shapes on which they displayed marvellous decorations full of inventiveness and humour. Piqued tortoiseshell objects were wildly popular among 19th-century collectors, particularly among members of the Rothschild family, and many pieces in this book boast this prestigious provenance"" *********************.…