Set of Six Chairs (Sedie)
furniture maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1800
Place MadeTrentino-Alto Adige, Italy, Europe
MediumCherry
Dimensions92.5 x 44.3 x 39.2 cm (36 7/16 x 17 7/16 x 15 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberF26n9.1-6
eMuseum ID717825
EmbARK ObjectID16183
TMS Source ID4528
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThese chairs are supported by fluted front legs that taper towards pear-shaped feet. At the tops are turned bobbins. In contrast, the stiles are simple pots connected by a stretcher. Plaques carved with corollas mark the centers of the rails. The back consists of a square frame with an arched crest. Centered on the pierced splats are plaques draped with parted curtains. Each chair has a different geometric or foliate motif within the plaque.
Although the chairs possess a simple elegance, the Neoclassical motifs are handled in a summary and schematic fashion. The slighly naive quality of the carving, and the fact that many elements have been left unadorned, suggests that they were made outside the major urban centers of northern Italy.
Although the chairs possess a simple elegance, the Neoclassical motifs are handled in a summary and schematic fashion. The slighly naive quality of the carving, and the fact that many elements have been left unadorned, suggests that they were made outside the major urban centers of northern Italy.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), p. 215. (Italian, early 19th century)
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 259, no. 120.
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 259, no. 120.
ProvenanceNotesPossibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner’s husband, John L. Gardner, Jr. (1837–1898), from the antique dealer Consiglio Ricchetti, Venice on 13 September 1897 for 240 lire (for set of six chairs).
