An Italian Rococo Kingwood and Tulipwood Parquetry Fauteuil de Bureau, Rome, Third Quarter 18th Century

Antonacci Efrati Gallery, Rome;

Italian Private Collection;

Sotheby's Paris, 15 September 2017, lot 34;

Where acquired by the present collector.

The unusual serpentine outline of the back and seat rails and five scrolling legs of this extremely rare model of desk chair epitomize the masterfully sinuous and fluid design of Italian rococo seat furniture. The distinctive kingwood and tulipwood parquetry of lozenge design, referred to as a gratelle is typical of Roman work of the third quarter of the eighteenth century and is seen on a group of surviving commodes, a pair of which is in the Palazzo Quirinale (illustrated in Alvar González-Palacios, I Mobili italiani, Milan 1996, p.74-75); a further similar pair was sold Sotheby's London, 12 December 1991, lot 144, and a single example in a private collection is illustrated in Enrico Colle, II mobile rococò in Italia (Milan 2003), no.24 p.129.