A suite of Italian carved giltwood seat furniture, Roman last quarter 18th century

comprising a sofa and four armchairs, each armchair with a rectangular curved padded back above padded arms and bowed padded seat, with outward curved arm supports, the seat-rail centred by a patera flanked by stylised scallopshells, the sabre legs headed by a neo-mask in a drapery headdress, the whole carved with berried laurel leaves and flowerheads and with chanelled frames

In overall very good conserved condition. Joints sound and sturdy. Rare model and very good quality carving. Some very minor retouching in places to the gilding with some minor wear in places. Old very minor marks and chips to gilding commensurate with normal usage as visible from the catalogue photograph which can easily be touched up. There are some hairline construction cracks at the joints commensurate with age and normal usage which can be left. There is a mask at the top of the inside of one rear leg on one armchair which is possibly a replacement as it has been left ungilded. A leaf on the inside of the foot on one rear leg has also been left ungilded and is possibly a later replacement. There have been some old very minor restorations to e.g some of the masks and some husks which have been left ungilded but which are hardly noticeable. The rear three middle legs on the sofa are uncarved and ungilded. The underside of the seat of the sofa has been strengthened. Evidence of old very minor worm which appears to be no longer active as visible from the detail photograph on p. 201.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature:
Mario Tavella, A set of Roman neo-classical armchairs at Ickworth, Apollo, April 2000, p. 49-52, figs. 1 & 2.
Enrico Colle, Il Mobile Neoclassico in Italia, Arredi e Decorazioni d’interni dal 1775 al 1800, Milan, 2005, pp. 156-157, no. 35.

This extremely elegant suite of carved giltwood seat furniture of a most unusual and innovative design represents one of the very finest models within the repertory of Roman neo-classical seat furniture in the late 18^th century. It is amongst the three recorded suites of seat furniture which, without a doubt, originate from the same workshop. With its bold carving and sophisticated form it reflects the Italian enthusiasm for the revival of Antique models interpreted by Roman craftsmen in the late 18^thcentury. There are two recorded variants of this model in both public and private collections.

The Ickworth Suite
The offered suite with its fine carving must be considered  in the context of another important set of six Roman armchairs, now in the Drawing Room at Ickworth House in Suffolk, illustrated in the article by Mario Tavella, op. cit., p. 49, figs. 1, and 2, reproduced here in fig. 1. Tavella discusses at length, the Ickworth suite, in particular the neo-classical armchairs which have almost identically carved husks on the frame and classical female masks with headdresses in the Antique manner to those upon this suite. In an article on Copped Hall in Country Life published in 1910 by H. Avray Tipping, a noted authority on country houses, (where the Ickworth armchairs were previously illustrated in the Hallway), he stated that they came from Palazzo Borghese in Rome, `Italy is well represented by a set of late eighteenth century armchairs …that come from the Borghese Palace’.  It is also worthwhile considering  the very close similarities from a stylistic angle of the Ickworth set and the offered suite to the surviving seat furniture at Villa Borghese, designed by Antonio Asprucci (1723-1808).

The `Demidoff' suite
It is also instructive to compare the Ickworth armchairs and the offered ones to a set of nine armchairs, one of which is in the Victoria and Albert, London, (by repute formerly in the Demidoff Collection at Villa San Donato, Fiesole) illustrated in Tavella’s article,op. cit.,  in fig. 12, all reputedly from Wentworth Castle, South Yorkshire, which are of identical design, size, construction and made of the same materials (including the webbing) as the Ickworth set, the only difference being in the decoration of the frame. One can in conclusion state with absolute certainty that the offered suite, both sets of armchairs at Ickworth and at the Victoria and Albert Museum London, were conceived by the same designer and made by the same craftsman in the same workshop. Three pairs of armchairs and a sofa identical to the Victoria and Albert armchairs and the Wentworth sofa, were offered for sale in these Rooms, lots 213-215 and lot 216, 9^th December 1994, which by implication leads to the conclusion that these three suites were extensive and comprised several pieces. In fact an identical sofa to the one in the offered suite was sold with a Provenance of Wynyard, County Durham, the former seat of the Londonderry family, in these Rooms, 10^th December 2003, lot 170, where it was shown in situ in the Library in a photograph.  Also see a virtually identical armchair which was with Ariane Dandois, Paris in 2003, with a Provenance from the Collection of the Princes Colonna, illustrated by Colle, op. cit., p. 157, no. 35, subsequently offered for sale, Christie’s, New York, 20th May 2014,  lot 297.  

Another closely related example is the seat furniture in Palazzo Spada and Palazzo Barberini in Rome (see Tavella op. cit., figs 10.  All these armchairs share the same distinctive chanelled frame and it is worthwhile noting that this frame can also be found on an armchair in the Mario Praz Collection, Palazzo, Primoli, Rome, illustrated by the same author op. cit., p. 52, fig. 8, which has a different shaped back and anthemion decorated seat-rail, husk carved channelled frame and sabre legs.

The variation in the three sets of seat furniture and exclusivity of the model may well indicate that they were conceived as part of a very grand programme of redecoration, not dissimilar to that undertaken by the architect Antonio Asprucci (1723-1808), also curator of the Borghese Collections and father of Mario, for the Palazzo and Villa Borghese in Rome.