LONDON.- A pair of rare North Italian 18th century bureau-cabinets from Palazzo Costaguti on Piazza Mattei in Rome are to be sold as part of the Fine Continental Furniture, Sculpture and Works of Art sale on 7 July 2010. These fine examples of bureau-cabinets have been veneered in burr walnut and highlighted with parcel-gilt carved elements. They have attracted a pre-sale estimate of £50,000 – 70,000.

Palazzo Costaguti was built in the first half of the 16th century for Pope Paul III’s treasurer, Contsantino Patrizi. Under its next owners, two important cardinals, Vincenzo and Giovanni Battista, it underwent works by some of the most significant artists of the 16th and 17th century including Domenichino, Pomarancio and Agostino Tassi. The Palazzo starred in Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film, The Talented Mr Ripley, as the building that housed Ripley’s (Matt Damon) apartment.

Highlights also include a French 18th century Louis XIV red velvet rest from Château Hérivaux in Luzarches, France, expected to fetch £20,000 – 30,000; a Piedmontese 18th century commode, which furnished Kensington Palace when lived in by the late Prince George, Duke of Kent, estimated at £20,000 – 30,000; and a set of six North Italian 19th century chairs from the Schloss Derneburg monastery in Germany, which was acquired by artist Georg Baselitz in 1975, estimated at £10,000 – 15,000.

Meanwhile a silver and rhodonite trophy made for the Prince of Monaco’s Cup circa 1900 by Keller has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £40,000 – 60,000.