Italian, Piedmont or Liguria
Set of Four Armchairs (Poltrone da parata), early 18th century
Walnut, 119.5 x 66.5 x 46 cm (47 1/16 x 26 3/16 x 18 1/8 in.)
This set of four Italian armchairs date from the early 18th century and is fashioned from walnut. The tall back and seat of each chair are upholstered in gold damask fabric. Curved arms terminate in volutes carved with flowers and the supports are smaller mirror images of the baluster legs. There are fluted baluster legs set between blocks, the lower ones carved and set on turned top feet. They are connected to the simpler rear legs with an H-shaped stretcher carved in an elegant undulating form.
Titian Room
Commentary
These chairs have fluted baluster legs set between blocks, the lower ones carved and set on turned top, or troupie, feet. They are connected to the simpler rear legs with an H-shaped stretcher carved in an elegant undulating form known as osso di morto (literally translated, the bones of the dead). Curved arms terminate in volutes carved with flowers. The supports are smaller mirror images of the baluster legs. The basic form of the chair was common in the seventeenth century, but the design of the arms indicates that the model was given variations in the early eighteenth century. The left arm of F25w12.3 is a replacement of the original. Both arms on F26w2.2 have been remade in pine.