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Lot Essay
The à l'antique design of these impressive Florentine chairs clearly parallels classically inspired seat furniture being created early in the 19th century in Paris, by makers such as Jacob-Desmalter, and in London, by Regency makers and designers such as Henry Holland and Morel and Hughes.
A set of six chairs of almost identical design (along with a matching set of twelve stools), is in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, and recorded in an 1829 inventory of the Guardaroba of the Palace, which was under the supervision of 'Signor Luigi Ray, Magazziniere di Questa R.e R. Guardaroba Generale' (E. Colle ed., I Mobili di Palzzo Pitti Il Secondo Periodo Lorenese 1800 - 1846, Florence, 2000, pp. 265 - 266, cat. 178).
Other chairs supplied to the Grand Ducal Court of Florence of similar inspiration include an armchair by Giuseppe Colzi and Paolo Sani in the Salotto della Regina of the Palazzo Pitti, while a design for a chair for the Salotto Cinese in the same palace features similar distinctively bulbous front legs (Colle, op. cit., pp. 51 and 56).
A set of six chairs of almost identical design (along with a matching set of twelve stools), is in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, and recorded in an 1829 inventory of the Guardaroba of the Palace, which was under the supervision of 'Signor Luigi Ray, Magazziniere di Questa R.e R. Guardaroba Generale' (E. Colle ed., I Mobili di Palzzo Pitti Il Secondo Periodo Lorenese 1800 - 1846, Florence, 2000, pp. 265 - 266, cat. 178).
Other chairs supplied to the Grand Ducal Court of Florence of similar inspiration include an armchair by Giuseppe Colzi and Paolo Sani in the Salotto della Regina of the Palazzo Pitti, while a design for a chair for the Salotto Cinese in the same palace features similar distinctively bulbous front legs (Colle, op. cit., pp. 51 and 56).