A PAIR OF NORTH ITALIAN POLYCHROME-DECORATED SIDE CHAIRS

IN THE MANNER OF MICHELANGELO PERGOLESI, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

Each with pierced back carved as entwined griffons centering a pagoda above bellflowers, with rectangular seat on foliate-carved saber legs, retaining traces of an early paint scheme
39 1/4 in. (99.5 cm.) high
Provenance

Property from the Collection of Marquesa Margaret Rockefeller de Larrain; Sotheby's, New York, 15 November 1980, lot 173.
Acquired from Dalva Brothers, New York.


Lot Essay

The distinctive design of these chairs has been historically attributed to Michelangelo Pergolesi based on an identical chair preserved in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York (Inv. 1924-6-1), that is based on models by Pergolesi. Comparable works attributed to Pergolesi include a settee of this design and supplemented by herms in the collection of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota (Inv. SN 1533), and an identical chair sold from The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection, Christie's, New York, 11-25 October 2022, lot 1609 ($22,680).
Although his life is shrouded in mystery, Michelangelo Pergolesi (d. 1801) is known as one of the chief assistants to the Adam brothers who was invited to work in London after having made the acquaintance of Robert Adam in Italy. After his arrival in London in 1770, Pergolesi published a number of design albums starting in 1771 that served both as manuals for cabinetmakers as well as inspirational sources for connoisseurs and patrons from London to St. Petersburg. His design books played a quintessential part in the dissemination of a distinctively English Neoclassical style throughout the European continent, particularly in Russia, where craftsmen such as Christian Meyer were greatly influenced by Pergolesi’s work. One of his most influential design album series, entitled Designs for Various Ornaments, was published in fourteen parts between 1777 and 1801. Including designs for interiors, decorations, and furniture, these volumes took inspiration from Raphael’s works and the new Etruscan style, which is apparent in the carved decoration of this chair.