IN THE MANNER OF PAULY ET CIE., EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Details

A VENETIAN POLYCHROME DECORATED LOBSTER-FORM CHAIR
IN THE MANNER OF PAULY ET CIE., EARLY 20TH CENTURY
The body opening to reveal a brown upholstered chair
23 ¼ in. (59 cm.) high, open, 44 in. high (111.8 cm.) high, closed

Special notice

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Lot Essay

These fantastical chairs are quintessential examples of Venetian 'grotto' furniture, so called after the fashion amongst the European nobility for building whimsical shell-encrusted grottos during the 18th and 19th centuries. By the mid-19th century a number of workshops specialized in the production of carved and gilt-gesso shell furniture in Venice, of which Pauly et Cie. was the leading firm by the 1880s.

A comparable seat was sold Christie's, London, 28 September 2008, lot 27 (£11,875). A related chair, in the form of a turtle, is illustrated in D. Linley, Extraordinary Furniture, London, 1996, p. 166.

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