Charles X inkwell, gift to Vincenzo Gioberti, 1834
Round-shaped bronze inkwell decorated with festoons joined together by two applied lost wax castings depicting two cherubs. On the lid, fixed by a hinge, there is a stylized "Fleur de Lys", designed to open it.
On the bottom of the circular base, the following dedication is engraved:
“A mon ami Vincenzo Gioberti avec un coeur reconnaissant, Paolo Pallia” and “Brusselle, Le 5 Avril 1834”.
According to the date reported, it is certain that this inkwell was donated by Pallia to Vincenzo Gioberti in the context of his 33rd birthday.
Vincenzo Gioberti was in fact born on 5 April 1801 and in 1834 he was in Brussels because, arrested on charges of conspiracy in 1833 and after four months in prison, banished from the Kingdom of Savoy without trial, Gioberti first went to Paris and, year later, in Brussels where he remained until 1845 to teach philosophy and assist a friend in the direction of a private school.
Paolo Pallia was a close friend of Vincenzo Gioberti and had the opportunity, during the latter's exile both in Paris and Brussels, to meet him several times as he also acted as an intermediary for the contacts that Mazzini maintained with Gioberti. In fact, Paolo Pallia was also a great friend of Giuseppe Mazzini with whom he had shared the expedition aimed at the invasion of Savoy on 3 February 1834, aimed at killing Carlo Alberto of Savoy considered by the Carboneria to be the greatest enemy of freedom.
Furthermore, a relevant note, regarding the dedication of the pallia, is the definition in which the city of Brussels is written: "Brusselle".
In fact, in historical Italian, Brussels was called Brusselle or Borsella.
Height: 16 cm and excellent condition in original patina.
Vincenzo Gioberti was one of the most important and significant figures of the Italian Risorgimento, chaplain of Carlo Alberto of Savoy, teacher of Philosophy, Deputy, First President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Sardinia, he presided over the Congress of the National Society for the Italian Confederation, he was President of the Council and Diplomatic. He died in Turin in 1852.
PaoloPallia was a brilliant scholar, who graduated in Theology at just 17 years old and, being unable to be ordained a priest due to his young age, he became a tutor in philosophy, theologian, politician and Italian patriot, and was a close friend of Vincenzo Gioberti and Giuseppe Mazzini. He died in Bex in 1837.