Chair thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 62, The Foyle Foundation Gallery

Chair

1580-1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Venice (made)

Italian chairs made from vase-shaped boards of wood have long been known as sgabelli, ultimately derived from the word scabellum (Latin for ‘stool’). They were often carved with fantastic monsters and grotesques, like this example, which belonged to Jules Soulages (1803–1856), a lawyer from Toulouse. His collection was exhibited at Marlborough House between December 1856 and January 1857, and subsequently bought piecemeal by this museum. Many pieces were heavily restored or made up of partly old pieces, like this example.


Object details

Categories
Furniture
Household Objects
Object type
Chair
Materials and techniques
Carved walnut, partly gilt
Walnut
Gold Leaf
Carving
Gilding
Joinery
Brief description
Carved wood chair, Venice, 16th century.
Physical description
Carved walnut wood chair, partly gilt. The front support of strapwork with a mask in the centre, the back of foliated ornament, flanked by two terminal figures.
Dimensions
  • Height: 121.7cm
  • Width: 56cm
  • Depth: 55cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Production typeLimited edition
Gallery label
  • Pair of Chairs 1580–1600 These typically Venetian chairs, called sgabelli, were fashionable in the 16th century. Made of elaborately carved wood, they have fan-shaped backs and shield-like supports. The imaginative decoration includes grotesque masks, scrolling foliage and female figures known as caryatids. [35 words] Veneto Walnut, partly gilded V&A: 7179, 7183-1860 At Home in Renaissance Italy, eds.Marta Ajmar-Wollheim and Flora Dennis (London, 2006), cat.130, pl.15.23(5 Oct 2006 - 7 Jan 2007)
  • PAIR OF CHAIRS Carved and partly gilt chestnut ITALIAN (Venetian); 16th century 7183-1860 7179-1860(Pre-2006)
  • CHAIR. Carved and gilt walnut. ITALIAN (VENETIAN); 16th century. From the Soulages Collection. 7179-1860.(Pre-2006)
  • CHAIR (Sgabello), one of a set Carved and partly gilt walnut ITALIAN (Venice); about 1590 From the Soulages Collection 7179-1860(Pre-2006)
Object history
Bought (Soulages collection) £15
Historical context
Comparable chairs
A carved and partly gilded walnut sgabello chair (one of a set of four) with arms of Massimo (110 x 35 x 42cm) with similar scrolling leaf panels to the back is published as Roman 1550-1600 in Ed. GONZALEZ-PALACIOS, Alvar: Fasto Romano - dipinti, sculture, arredi dai Palzzi di Roma. (Rome, Palazzo Sacchetti, 1991), no. 64. The entry notes Tuscan influence in the design.
Summary
Italian chairs made from vase-shaped boards of wood have long been known as sgabelli, ultimately derived from the word scabellum (Latin for ‘stool’). They were often carved with fantastic monsters and grotesques, like this example, which belonged to Jules Soulages (1803–1856), a lawyer from Toulouse. His collection was exhibited at Marlborough House between December 1856 and January 1857, and subsequently bought piecemeal by this museum. Many pieces were heavily restored or made up of partly old pieces, like this example.
Associated object
7183-1860 (Set)
Bibliographic references
  • John Hungerford Pollen, Ancient & Modern Furniture & Woodwork (London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1874), 104. “7179. ’60. CHAIR. Carved chestnut wood, partly gilt. The front support a composition of strap work with a mask in the centre ; the back of foliated ornament flanked by terminal figures. Venetian. 16th century. H. 3 ft. 6½ in., W. 19½ in. Bought (Soulages Coll.), 15l.”
  • Bode, Wilhelm. Die Italienischen Hausmöbel der Renaissance (Leipzig, 1902), p.22
  • Ajmar-Wollheim, Marta and Flora Dennis, At Home in Renaissance Italy, London: V&A Publishing, 2006.
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
7179-1860

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Record createdMay 10, 2000
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O39474/chair-unknown/
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