Fish and seafood (tuna steaks, peppers, olives, anchovies, razor clams, mullets, scorpion fish)

This still life is among the earliest ones chosen by Hackert to decorate the Dressing Room of the Royal Casino of Carditello, described in the inventory of 1792 as a painting depicting “‘prigiotto’, fish and seafood".

In 1817, the work was placed in the “speckled pink” coloured room next to the Dressing Room; after the Unification of Italy, following some work carried out on the site, it was sent to the Royal Palace of Caserta.

The small canvas can be considered an important document on food preservation: the depiction shows that in Naples, in the first half of the 18th century, wooden barrels were still being used to preserve anchovies, olives and peppers in oil, instead of the famous “boccaccio” (jar), which would soon revolutionise the history and customs of the entire Kingdom.