An Italian carved giltwood side chair, 20th century

The design for the present chair is derived from the “Klismos Chair”, inspired by ancient Greece and characterized by splayed saber-shaped legs and rails connected by a concave backrest. This model became very popular during the second half of the 18th century in Europe, especially sought after due to the lightness of its shapes and its antiquity reference.

This chair, which is distinguished by an open backrest centered with a perforated cockade, is comparable to a set of ten chairs designed in 1784 for the Villa Borghese in Rome by Lucia Landucci, daughter or widow of the sculptor Antonio Landucci, in charge of the renovation of the Villa. This set is illustrated in Alvar Gonzàlez-Palacios, Il Gusto del Principi, arte di corte del XVII e del XVIII secolo, Vol. II, Milan, 1993, p. 238, fig. 475.

A set of six armchairs and nine chairs from the 20th century was sold recently in the single owner sale, at Sotheby's, Paris, The French Touch: Hommage à Alain et Catherine Bernard, 23 September 2020, lot 103.