Settee

Artist Michelangelo Pergolesi (Italian, active 1777 – 1801)

Datec. 1750

MediumCarved, painted, and lacquered wood

DimensionsImage: 39 x 54 1/2 x 18 7/8 in. (99.1 x 138.4 x 47.9 cm)

ClassificationsFurniture

Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1957

Object numberSN1803

This elaborate settee, along with the matching chairs, 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 view

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