CARLO BUGATTI
CHAIR, c. 1910
Chair with a tall asymmetrical back, the two-tone walnut (Juglans regia) structure richly inlaid with tin, copper and brass, and embellished with bovine bone elements (Bos taurus) and repoussé copper motifs. The back is further adorned with silk passementerie punctuated by repoussé copper elements. The seat and diagonal backrest panel retain their original painted sheep parchment (Ovis aries). The backrest is decorated with vegetal motifs and birds in flight, while the seat features a calligraphic inscription in Arabic script accompanied by a group of chicks.
Overall dimensions:
H 149,5 - W 40,5 - D 40,5 cm.
H 58 7/8 - W 16 - D 16 in.
H 149,5 - W 40,5 - D 40,5 cm.
H 58 7/8 - W 16 - D 16 in.
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This chair illustrates the freedom with which Carlo Bugatti combined forms, materials and decorative traditions at the turn of the twentieth century. The striking asymmetry of the back, together with pewter inlays, repoussé copper elements and silk passementerie, gives the chair an architectural presence.
The painted parchment introduces a more poetic register: vegetation and birds in flight animate the backrest, while a group of chicks accompanies a calligraphic inscription in Arabic script on the seat. These motifs reflect Bugatti’s fascination with non-European arts and cultures, freely reinterpreted through his highly personal decorative language.
Exhibitions
“I Bugatti” Exhibition, June 21–September 21, 1997, Masnago Castle, Varese, 1997 for a similar modelLiterature
Philippe Dejean, 'Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean Bugatti', Éditions du regard, Paris, 1981, p. 86 for related chair models illustrated.Exhibition catalog, ‘I Bugatti’, June 21–September 21, 1997, Masnago Castle, Varese, Gabriele Mazzotta Editions, 1997, page 32 for a similar model
'reConnaitre Carlo Bugatti', Musée d'Orsay, RMN Lyon, 2001, p. 11 for a similar model
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