Chair
Artist
Michelangelo Pergolesi
(Italian, active 1777 – 1801)
Datec. 1750
MediumCarved, painted, and lacquered wood
DimensionsImage: 39 x 17 1/2 x 16 1/2 in. (99.1 x 44.5 x 41.9 cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1957
Object numberSN1805
This elaborate chair, along with the matching settee and chair, were likely produced in Venice, and form part of a large suite of furniture designed by Pergolesi, an architect and specialist in ornamental designs. The carved decorative elements on the backs of the pieces, which include bird heads and parasols, demonstrate the 18th-century Venetian taste for chinoiserie, or Chinese-influenced styling, in the decorative arts. Such delicate furniture would have denoted exotic refinement and luxury, and was meant for display along the walls of a Venetian salon rather than for daily use.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 18, Floor West, North End
circa 1790-1800
late 18th Century
19th century