FINDERS KEEPERS | MASTERS & MUSES | CABANA MAGAZINE
With a legacy spanning three generations – specializing in Veneto and Lombardy "masterpieces only" – Milanese antique dealer and TEFAF Maastricht exhibitor Tomaso Piva shares with Cabana the stories of some exceptional pieces that have passed through his hands: his greatest finds and the pieces he’ll keep forever.
INTERVIEW BY SARA PIERDONÀ | MASTERS & MUSES | 14 MARCH 2025
Marquetry on a piece signed by Giuseppe Maggiolini.
It often happens that antiquarian galleries exhibit pieces of different value and prestige. This happens both to better connect with different budgets, and because a widespread theory holds that the exceptional work stands out better when placed next to an ordinary piece. Not so at Tomaso Piva, where the motto is "masterpieces only".
This historic gallery, located in the center of Milan for three generations, specializes in pieces of Veneto or Lombardy origin, but of international taste. “My grandfather started right after WWII, selling furniture from his home region, Veneto,” says Tomaso Piva. “He had a taste for painting and sculpture, and added the major arts to the collection, as well as refining the general style. I have continued along this path, specializing in local excellences capable of attracting the attention of major collectors, in particular marquetry, Venetian lacquerware and authorial furniture - common in France but very rare in Italy.” The gallery, spread over two floors and furnished with Venetian wallpaper and rhombus parquet flooring, has a cosy and not too pompous look, highlighting the typical Rococo playfulness of the Tiepolo paintings on the walls.
A bed frame and two side-tables, signed by Giuseppe Maggiolini.
My Greatest Find: Furniture signed by Giuseppe Maggiolini
"A group of pieces of furniture signed by Giuseppe Maggiolini, a great neoclassical cabinetmaker active in Milan and author of authentic masterpieces. I bought them from a collector who had put them together over the years from different places. I consider it ‘my greatest find’ for the simple fact that I came into possession of them, because they are particularly sophisticated models by a [cabinetmaker] who is very very difficult to find, and often copied (badly). Authenticity is established through the designs, which in this case were very complex: ribbons, shields, doves and oak leaves appeared on the bedside tables, the bed was decorated with a complex Pompeian motif... and so on.
"And they also had exceptional metal applications, as well as gilded bronze handles and plinths. I resold them all, but the beauty of my profession is also putting things back on the market that are so unobtainable that they risk being forgotten."
Venetian busts from the Roman home of movie director, Luchino Visconti.
The Piece I'll Keep Forever: A pair of Venetian busts
"A pair of Venetian busts from the Roman home of movie director Luchino Visconti, who had placed them at the entrance to his library. I bought them because I was aware of their exceptionality and rarity, and only later did I consider how difficult it would be to sell them, given their monumental size. The truth is that by keeping them, always under my eyes, I grew fond of them, appreciating them more and more as time went by.
"They are signed (‘Santi Cesarini fecit’, reads the inscription on the drapery of the woman) but the history of the changes of ownership before they came to Visconti is difficult to reconstruct, although we know that the sculptor was active in Venice, where another of his sculptures is preserved in a visitable church.
"The motif of the ‘Moor’ had spread in step with the maritime power of the Serenissima (Venice). Worn as a jewel it was an amulet, whereas in furnishing it was often adapted to lamps, small tables and serving trays, because it was associated with the theme of guardians and protection of the home – the ‘Moors’ being the household help.
"The exceptionality of this pair lies in the fact that they are two portraits. Of both of them, thanks to the sculptor's talent, we can guess the personality: the man is proud and attentive, the woman on the other hand is sweeter, almost melancholic."
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