ROME, CIRCA 1700-1720

These vigorously sculptural stools are testament to the ingenuity of the disegnatori and the enviable abilities of the intagliatori of Baroque Rome. The inclusion of the putto heads on the legs is typical of the late Roman Baroque and can be found on a myriad of chairs, mirrors, and consoles, see E. Colle, Il Mobile Barocco in Italia, Milan, 2000, pp. 124-127; A. González-Palacios, Arredi e Ornamenti alla Corte di Roma, Milan 2014, pp. 164-165, and G. Lizzani, Il Mobile Romano, Novara, 1997, p. 92, fig. 151. Interestingly, these putti are only placed on the front legs, indicating that these stools were to be viewed from the front and were to be placed against the wall, probably along a long gallery typical to Roman architecture, for instance in the Palazzo Colonna and the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj. The tradition of placing furniture along the walls was not specific to Italy but was a widespread European custom that persisted well into the eighteenth century, until the appearance of the rococo.