A pair of Venetian carved walnut and parcel gilt Sansovino frames,

circa 1575 constructed on a walnut back frame with lotus leaf and half rosette inner moulding at the sides. Female herms suspending festoons from volutes, supporting a form of entablature

with rosettes in the corners and above, capitals with varying grotesque heads, centering on a triangular pediment supporting cornucopia and below a winged putto. A grotesque mask between volutes with rams heads at the corners forms the bottom side. sight size 920 x 915 mm overall size 1430 x 1475 mm The Sansovino frame is a distinctive Venetian pattern of frame that takes its name from the architect and sculptor Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570) who worked in Venice from 1527 until his death. Although Jacopo Sansovino almost certainly did not design the frame type named after him, the pattern draws upon decorative motifs commonly found in carved or stucco wall panels or ceiling decorations in . Venice at the time when he was city architect and it has come to symbolise Venetian style of that period. The stucco decoration in the Sala delle Quatro Porte, Pallazzo Ducale and the .council chambers of the Doge's Palace by the workshop of Alessandro Vittoria (1525-1608), Sansovino's most gifted pupil, are good examples of the style of ornament. The distinctive characteristics of the Sansovino frame is the intertwining scrolls and volutes and the contrast of the rich dark brown colour of the walnut, or soft/ wood coloured to appear as walnut, and the gilded highlights — an effect called Inmeggiato in on. The pair of frames illustrated are exceptional examples of the Sansovino style. Their strong architectural form is embellished with a last flourish of Renaissance ornament which is more sculptural than on other styles of frame.