A Pair of North Italian Neoclassical Bronze Mounted Polychrome Painted Armchairs †
First Half 19th Century
Height 39 1/4 x width 25 1/2 x depth 22 1/2 inches.

Provenance:
Fremontier, Paris, 22 January 1993 (with copy of invoice)

This distinctive pair of neoclassical armchairs reflect the work of the Italian architect-designer Pelagio Pelagi (1775-1860). He was particularly influenced by ancient Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian art, and his first major project was the redecoration of the Quirinale Palace in Rome in 1812 for the brief reign of the Emperor Napoleon. Pelagi's most notable commissions were for the Royal residences of King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia (1798-1849) and his son Victor Emanuel II (1820-1878), his successor and subsequent King of Italy. They included the Castello di Racconigi, the Palazzo Reale in Turin, and the Palazzo Reale in Genoa. Pelagi's seat furniture often featured elaborate scrolled, figural or animistic arm supports and include a pair supplied to the Castello di Racconigi, two of which are now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA 86.14.1). Other related examples can be seen in E. Colle, Il Mobile Impero in Italia, Milan, 1998.

Sturdy condition without noticeable repairs. A few inactive wormholes. The paint refreshed in some areas, notably to the seat backs. One chair with an age crack through its front seat rail. Upholstery clean and intact, with some of the braided swags detached from the front of one chair. Seat cushions are not original. The griffon mounts with old filled holes to the front, suggesting there may have originally been additional bronze decoration which has been lost.