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Such is the wealth of detail portrayed on this piece that you will inevitably find more fragments every time you ponder on it. At first glance it appears to be the interior of an antique dealer’s shop. He, the proprietor is seen holding a little chalice on offer to the Lady who has entered his emporium. But is he selling or buying. Is he offering a paltry price for the little chalice or is he selling it and exaggerating its artistic qualities. Everyone knows that prices go down in hard times and they go up again when there is a shortage. A chalice is hardly an essential artefact for a poor old lady so on balance we are led to believe that she is selling and he is putting on his air of of generosity despite the item being practically worthless, very common and not easy to dispose of (says he). Antonio Borsato worked all his life as a creator of unusual figurines in Milan near the well known Niguarda Hospital. He reached a goodly age and after his demise in the seventies his daughter Mrs Scotti carried on for a while producing his treasured pieces. One of his pupils in the 1940’s was the young Giuseppe Cappe’ who returned, broken with melancholy from the Russian front. His brigade of Italian conscripts were fighting alongside the Germans in the siege of Leningrad and only a few survived. Borsato never gave due credit to Cappe’ and the latter started his own studio in Monza in the 1950’s having left Borsato with a rich legacy of models. The Antique Dealer’s Emporium is fired in a ceramic known as gres d’arte, a slightly softer paste than porcelain and when fired without enamel colours tends towards a greyish white. Borsato’s masterpieces are highly regarded and were never produced in large quantities or exported so much as the later artists manage to achieve. We classify his works generally as very rare and hence precious. If you are interested in purchasing this item, or making us an offer for it, please contact us via telephone on +44 1253 600600 or via email to [email protected] Can be viewed in our Blackpool showroom. Open 7 days a week. Height : 28cm Width : 38cm Depth : 21cm

£1,250