拍品專文
Decorated with scagliola imitating malachite and foliate ormolu mounts, these chairs are en suite with a malachite armchair and table in the Salon de Baile of the Casita del Labrador at Aranjuez. The table was a gift from Alexander II of Russia to Isabel II of Spain, almost certainly in the late 1850s, and subsequently chairs were made in Spain in scagliola imitating Russian malachite which were added to the suite (L. Feduchi, Colecciones de Espana, El Meuble, Madrid, 1965, p. 318, fig. 224). Furniture and works of art decorated in malachite were perhaps the most precious and glamourous of Russian Imperial gifts, mostly given to other European monarchs or aristocrats and adding an unusual green touch to any interior. The malachite table and clock at Chatsworth, given by Empress Alexandra of Russia to the 6th Duke of Devonshire, demonstrate the impact of this unususual precious mineral (The Duchess of Devonshire, Chatsworth, London, 2002, pp. 83-84).