ROME, FIVE SECOND QUARTER 18TH CENTURY, THREE OF A LATER DATE

The present lot may come from a larger set belonging to the Borghese family and was apparently listed in the nineteenth century inventories at the Palazzo Borghese, Rome, until the collection was sold by Prince Paolo Borghese 28 March-9 April 1892.  The most prominently known set of matching chairs are a set of twelve [gilt-gesso] chairs in the collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, England (see L. Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, London, 2009, pp. 280-291) and noted to have been commissioned for the Palazzo Borghese. In June 1974 a London dealer, Rodney Brooke, advertised a set of eight chairs, said to be the present lot, with the provenance “The Prince Ruspoli, Villa Meiani, Rome.” Subsequently, the Christie’s London sale on 14 July 1977 offered and illustrated in the catalogue a set of “Five Italian Giltwood Chairs” and “three similar of a later date,” with the provenance Palazzo Borghese, Ruspoli. The chain of ownership becomes unclear until January 1989 where this set was offered at Sotheby’s, New York 21 January 1989 and were purchased by English furniture dealer, Glenn Randall, who then sold the present lot to the current owner, Arnold Scaasi. Two additional examples of similar chairs are in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.nos 31-79.1 and 58.84).