A set of four Italian giltwood and lacquered armchairs, Venice, first half 18th century

upholstered with associated Beauvais tapestry; restorations

These four elegant armchairs have traces of old woodworm which appears to be no longer active but which has somewhat weakened the wood in places. It has overall rubbing and losses to the gilt surface. The four armchairs have later reinforcements to the seat rails and the leg joints have also been conserved. Three armchairs with restored breakages to the legs. The tapestry cover is a good colour match with the printed catalogue photograph. The design of the tapestry is slightly different on each pair, as visible in the printed catalogue. Two have a more saffron yellow ground and more open design, the other two have a more densely packed floral composition with dark brown ground. The reverse of the back has a modern caramel coloured velvet inset. The edges of the seats have double rows of studs with the tapestry in between around all the edge and there is matching tapestry on the padded arms. On all chairs, there are some small areas of repair and reweaving and some minor horizontal splits, for example in centre and top right corner of one of chairs with the denser floral design (back left in printed catalogue). There are some areas where the weft threads are no longer present and the supporting horizontal warp threads are visible which show the upholstery underneath, and these areas need stabilising. There are the light coloured areas, of the central flowers/or light highlighted leaf in the centre of the seats and backs of all four chairs. There is some reweaving to the outer edges in places. There is some oxidisation to the browns, commensurate with dye, see for example the brown edge of seats of the pair of chairs in catalogue photograph. Tapestry overall is generally stable with some areas in need of attention. The tapestry would also benefit from being cleaned.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A pair of identical armchairs from the same suite of seat furniture is in the Cignaroli room at the Fondazione Accorsi-Ometto, Turin (fig. 1). A further pair of Venetian armchairs with closely related apron and legs were in the collection of Count Franco Cella, Milan, and are illustrated in G. Morazzoni, Il mobile veneziano, Milan, 1958, tav. LII, while a single desk armchair in the same spirit from the Giuseppe Rossi collection sold these rooms, 11-12 March 1999, lot 97 (£14,950).