Center Table with Micromosaic Top, "Love Triumphant"
Agostino Francesangeli (Italian) · Italy · table c. 1865; top c.1830–50
This table once graced the home of William J. Gordon (1818-1892), probably best known for the bequest of the site of his residence to the city of Cleveland, to create Gordon Park. He is known to have visited Europe in 1865 and it is reported that the top of this table was purchased in Rome from Agostino Francesangeli. Its pictorial design, executed in micromosaic (a mosaic made from tiny glass tesserae, or tiles), is based on a decoration at the Villa Lante thought to have been painted by the great Italian Renaissance artist, Raphael (1483-1520). After he returned home, Gordon probably commissioned the wooden table itself to be made by the New York firm of Herter Brothers.
