Important Antique Italian Marble Centre Table

Important 19th Century Florentine Granito Verde Della Sedia Di San Lorenzo & Specimen Marble Inlaid Ebonised Parcel Gilt Centre Table.
Italy, circa 1870

Height: 75 cms (29.5 ins)
Width: 147 cms (58 ins)
Depth: 81 cms (32 ins)

gifted to William Montagu Hay, 10th Marquess of Tweeddale & Candida Louisa Dundas Bartolucci upon their marriage in 1878 as a sign of the joining of these two noble families. It has passed through the Family until the death of the 12th Marquess of Tweeddale in 1967 & remained at the Estate.

Francesco Corsi’s collection is now housed in Oxford, he described this stone as ‘Rarissimo’.

William Montagu Hay ( 1826 – 1911 ) was the third son of George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale (1787–1876) by his marriage to Susan, a daughter of William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester. As a younger son, Hay was educated at the Imperial Service College and then served in the Bengal Civil Service from 1845 to 1862, including some years as Deputy Commissioner of Simla and then as Superintendent of the Hill States of Northern India. Following his permanent return from India, Hay was Liberal Member of Parliament for Taunton from 1865 to 1868, and was elected again for Haddington Burghs in 1878. He also became Chairman of the North British Railway Company. On 18 May 1878, at St Augustine’s Church, London, he married Candida Louisa, a daughter of Signor Vincencio Bartolucci of Cantiano, Italy. They had three sons and one daughter. After succeeding his brother Arthur as Marquess of Tweeddale on 29 December 1878, he became the owner of estates totalling some 40,000 acres in Scotland. In 1881 he was created Baron Tweeddale of Yester in the peerage of the United Kingdom, giving him a seat in the House of Lords. As well as being Hereditary Chamberlain of Dunfermline he was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1889 to 1892 and again in 1896–97. He died on 25 November 1911 at his London house and was succeeded by his eldest son, the Earl of Gifford.

Candida Louisa Dundas Bartolucci ( 1858-1925 ), was the daughter of Vincencio Bartolucci & Clementina Dundas.

The Bartolucci Family are a historically important Italian noble Family whose origins can be traced to 14th Century Florence, Italy.

The Dundas Family established its position as one of the most important in the history of Scotland. Once widely regarded as one of the noblest in the British Empire. Although no longer widely known, the Dundas clan has been instrumental in some of the most important events in Scottish history. It was in the 18th century that the family was key in allowing the Act of Union with England to commence, thereby creating the ‘United’ Kingdom in its current form.

The refined power & beautiful elegance of this Florentine masterpiece cannot be overstated, it is incredibly rare with outstanding provenance. A true masterpiece.