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Lot 275 PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF MORTON SWINSKY (LOTS 275-276)
A VENETIAN POLYCHROME DECORATED TURTLE-FORM CHAIR
ATTRIBUTED TO PAULY ET CIE., LATE 19TH CENTURY
Closed20 October 2011
Price Realised
USD 23,750
More Information
Specialist note
These whimsical chairs epitomize the Venetian tradition of 'grotto' furniture-making, so named among the European nobility who erected shell-encrusted pavilions and grottos during the 18th and 19th centuries. By the mid-19th century a number of workshops specialized in the production of carved and gilt-gesso shell furniture in Venice, the firms of Pauly et Cie. and Remi & Ci. being among the leading manufacturers by the 1880s.
A comparable chair formed as a crab was sold at Christie's, London, 24 September 2008, lot 27 (£11,875). Another example of a turtle-form seat is illustrated in D. Linley, Extraordinary Furniture, London, 1996, p. 166.
A comparable chair formed as a crab was sold at Christie's, London, 24 September 2008, lot 27 (£11,875). Another example of a turtle-form seat is illustrated in D. Linley, Extraordinary Furniture, London, 1996, p. 166.