ROME, LAST QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

Richly carved and of sumptuous proportions, the design of the present set of armchairs suggest they were almost certainly a prestigious commission by an important Roman family, and once part of a larger suite made to furnish the vast interiors of an aristocratic palazzo. Combining finely-carved classical ornamentation with serpentine outlines, the chairs are emblematic of transitional furniture produced in Rome in the late 18th century. Features such as the female mask festooned with acorns and swagged drapery, ribbon-carved frame divided by flowerheads and tapering spirally fluted legs suggest the growing emergence of neoclassicism under the pontificate of Pope Pius VI (1775-1799). Nevertheless, elements such as the sinuous form of the back and S-scrolled arm supports demonstrate the lingering influence of the rococo. A pair of chairs of related silhouette and ornamentation, probably from the Palazzo or Villa Borghese, sold at Sotheby’s, London, 8 July 2015, lot 23 (£50,000, including premium), while another pair from the same suite sold in the Ariane Dandois sale, Sotheby's, New York, 25th October 2007, lot 330 ($577,000, including premium). See A. González-Palacios, Fasto Romano: dipinti, sculture, arredi dai Palazzi di Roma, Exhibition Catalogue, 13 May – 30 June 1991, Rome, pp. 183-184 and E. Colle, Il Mobile Neoclassico in Italia, Milan, 2005, pp. 152-153 for additional examples of transitional seat furniture of this period.