Il Consiglio

The Maggiolini Fund, now preserved at the Drawing Cabinet of Sforza Castle, represents an extraordinary enterprise of Lombard artisanal and artistic culture. Acquired in 1882 by antiquarian Antonio Grandi, the fund gathers nearly two thousand sheets, providing a valuable testimony of the activity of the famous workshop of cabinetmakers Maggiolini, which flourished between the 18th and 19th centuries.
Among these drawings, those by Andrea Appiani stand out, who collaborated with the Maggiolini family business, contributing his art to the design phase of furniture decorations. The drawing presented here is preparatory for a chest of drawers exhibited in the Museums of Sforza Castle, made for Count Antonio Greppi in the 1770s.
For the composition, Appiani was inspired by Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia (Sienese edition of 1613), where the Council is represented as an old sage dressed in red, with a heart of gold hanging around his neck, a closed book, and an owl perched on top of it—symbols of wisdom and prudence.
Notably, the addition of the emblem with the turtle and the motto TARDE SED TUTO (Slowly but surely): an emblem that encapsulates the spirit of the artistic and cultural enterprise of the Maggiolini: a work of patience, balance, and perfection, capable of uniting art and craftsmanship, beauty and durability.