A Pair of Baroque Carved Armchairs

The rectangular backs and seats upholstered in red damask silk and supported on square rope-twist uprights, legs and armrests, embellished at both ends of the armrests, the mid-stretchers and the feet with finely carved acanthus leaves. 

The overall form of these rare and elegant museum quality armchairs is inspired by Franco-Flemish models of the baroque period, but the distinctively stylized rope-twist moulding and exuberant acanthus carving betray an unmistakable Venetian flourish.

A similar, though probably earlier and slightly less refined, single chair may be found in the Museo Civico delle Arti Decorative, Castello Sforzesco, Milan. This chair is illustrated in Rava (op.cit.) and Colle (op.cit) (reproduced above).

We have two identical pairs of armchairs. They may be purchased as separate pairs or as a set of four.