Ca' Rezzonico

Ca' Rezzonico

Second floor

Harpsichord room

The room takes name from the harpsichord (dated to the third quarter of the Seventeenth Century), probably made in Urbino, which was subsequently mounted on anachronistic legs. The decoration on the sides is in lacca povera, which consists of printed cut-outs glued on then coated with a layer of protective transparent varnish. In this specific case, it shows hunting scenes, landscapes and trysts. The drop-leaf chest of drawers against the wall is decorated with the same technique. 

In three modern glass display cases along the wall, there is an important selection of porcelain objects that provide an overview of some of the most important of the Eighteenth-Century European production, including extremely famous pieces from Meissen, Sèvres and Wien.

The most significant group was produced locally, and specifically in Venice (by Vezzi and Cozzi) and Nove, near Bassano (by Antonibon). The earliest manufactory in Venice was that of Giovanni Vezzi, who was the first to bring to Venice the chemical formula for porcelain, originally discovered in 1710 by Johann Friedrich Böttger, an alchemist at the royal Court at Dresden. Vezzi’s porcelain production began in 1720 and had already ceased by 1727. Now this objects are very rare. All made of a characteristicacally hard, translucent porcelain that was very similar to the porcelain produced in Meissen.
Amongst the pieces on display, there is a remarkable series of elegant bell-shaped cups with iron red, blue and gold decorations and mithological scenes depicted by Ludovico Ortolani.

Other significant examples were produced by Geminiano Cozzi porcelain manufactory from 1764 to the early 19th Century. Cozzi’s production was typified by his continually modernised forms and decorations which changed according to fashion and tastes. The marvellous tea and coffee service donated to Ca’ Rezzonico by Prince Umberto of Savoy with red monochrome decorations of landscapes and country scenes is one of the Cozzi’s earliest production and one of his masterpieces.