A PAIR OF NORTH ITALIAN PARCEL-GILT WALNUT 'SGABELLO' CHAIRS

This pair of sensitively carved Venetian chairs exemplifies perfectly the original sgabello form. Sgabelli chairs were particularly associated with Renaissance Italy, and specifically Venice, where the present lot originates. The popularity of the sgabello with its elaborately ornamented legs and back was such that the design quickly proliferated throughout Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

As ornamental objects that combine the practical medieval form of a stool with angled legs with the humanistic Renaissance design incorporating an elongated back and intricate decoration, these sgabelli can be interpreted in the context of a Venetian palazzo. In Venice they traditionally stood in sets along the walls of the portego, a long room at the heart of the home that was used for family celebrations and ceremony.

Adorned at every opportunity, these walnut sgabelli certainly appealed to Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s fascination with the craft of wood carving.