Pair of wooden chairs – Workshop in Pogliano, Italy, early 19th century

This pair of early 19th century Italian chairs is decorated with a very rich marquetry. The H-shaped spacer is relatively worked with a disc cross. The legs form an X with rounded curves that bring movement to the whole. The seat is square and the rectangular base backrest ends in a stylized arc at the top. It is separated from the backrest crossbars by a gap. The motifs are made in marquetry; mother-of-pearl or ivory elements are inlaid in the wood. These inlays are geometric and create arabesque vegetal motifs on the uprights as well as on the seat. The back is particularly elaborate with a circular shape on the lower part of the back, created by the various inlays. The most remarkable is the centre of the backrest with, inside a mandorla, a cartouche containing the drawing of a man dressed in Renaissance fashion and armed. This is a conversation, since the motifs respond to each other when the chairs are placed opposite each other. These two figures appear to be aristocrats, lords or knights.

The Pogliano workshop is named after Fernando Pogliano, an Italian cabinetmaker. His workshop was located in Milan and he worked there with his two sons. His monumental Renaissance-inspired creations earned him great recognition in the world of decorative arts. His luxurious furniture design made him the cabinetmaker of choice for some of Italy’s leading families. His furniture, often made of ebony, is inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ivory or precious or semi-precious stones. Through his work in marquetry and wood inlay, Pogliani, places himself as the heir to the sumptuous Florentine furniture of the 16th and 17th centuries.