A VENETIAN POLYCHROME-DECORATED AND PARCEL-GILT BLACKAMOOR TORCHERE

The Venetian tradition of producing this kind of elaborate furniture in the baroque manner incorporating blackamoor figures began in the mid-17th century and continues to this day, however the appetite for this kind of furniture reached its zenith in the late 19th century when the industry enjoyed a renaissance, fitting perfectly, as it did, with the opulent aesthetic of the day. Related Venetian furniture exhibiting the same flamboyant Moorish influences is illustrated in, Bruce Newman, Fantasy Furniture, New York, 1989.