PAIR OF PLAQUES, 18th CENTURY ITALIAN WORK, circa 1750 Attributed to Enrico Hugford (1695-1771) In scagliola, depicting harbour scenes animated with architecture and figures, one of the two inscribed "Conte Guerra" on the back, in carved and gilded wood frames from the later period. Size (unframed): 42.5 × 32.5 cm (16 ¾ × 12 ¾ in.) Provenance: Former collection of Prince and Princess Henry de La Tour d'Auvergne Lauraguais ; Sotheby's London sale, 3 May 2012, lot 38. Comparative bibliography: A.M Massinelli, Scagliola, L'arte della pietra di luna, Editalia, Rome, 1997, p. 57 fig. 38, p. 58 fig. 39. A pair of 18th century Italian scagliola plaques, attributed to Enrico Hugford (1695-1771), circa 1750 This pair of plates can be attributed to Enrico Hugford (1695-1771), one of the most talented masters in the art of scagliola in the 18th century. Born of English parents who moved to Italy around 1686 and entered the service of the Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici, Enrico Hugford (1695-1771) and his brother Ignazio (1703-1778) were important figures in mid-eighteenth-century Florence. Enrico Hugford played a fundamental innovative role in the art of scagliole. Thanks to his refined technique, he achieved extreme precision. His elegant views draw on the repertoire of eighteenth-century Vedutism and are characterised by a skilful blend of pastel colours, polished surfaces and contrasting light and shade, while treating a variety of subjects such as landscapes, sea and river views with architecture and figures (cfr. A.M. Massinelli, Scagliola: l'arte della pietra di luna, Rome, 1997, pp.28-32), flowers, animals, genre scenes, portraits and stories of holy figures. Although unsigned, our copies can be associated with a small group of comparable pieces signed by Hugford, such as : - a pair illustrating Castel Sant Angelo and the Quirinal Palace in Rome (Sotheby's London sale, Treasures, 6 July 2016, lot 38 - £100,000); - a pair illustrating landscape scenes very similar to our own, also from the former collections of Prince and Princess Henry de la Tour D'Auvergne Laurauguais (Sotheby's London sale, 3 May 2012, lot 40 - £91,250). Comparable unsigned examples include one decorated with a seaport scene from the former Bianchi collection (cf. fig. 1) illustrated in A.M. Massinelli, ibid. p. 58, fig. 39, another pair from the la Tour d'Auvergne collection (Sotheby's London sale, 3 May 2012, lot 37 - £37,250) and the panels sold alone at Sotheby's London, 12 November 2024, lots 161 and 162.