A set of six Italian red painted and parcel-gilt`Fesch' chairs designed by Lorenzo Santi (1783-1839) and Dionisio Santi (b. 1784/86), Roman circa 1806, together with two later armchairs and four chairs, 20th century

each with an arched top-rail with a ribbon-tied wreath enclosing an eagle above a rectangular padded back with fluted side-rails above a rectangular padded-seat the seat-rail carved with lunettes with a flowerhead at each corner on sabre legs terminating in front paw feet; each 18th century chair stamped A & VI, D & III, E & II (and VII?),  F & V, VII, and XVIII;  redecorated 

Purchased in Paris in the 1960's.

Some of the chairs in need of restoration where the decoration is distressed. Top-rail of one chair restored and foot of one armchair have lost their decoration. Old marks, chips and scratches commensurate with normal usage. The old chairs have been re-blocked. Joints sound and sturdy. The front foot of the chair incised A on seat-rail has been replaced and their is a loss to the painted decoration on the rear right leg. On another old chair incised F there is a loss to the decoration to the rear left leg. There is a minor section of moulding missing at the top of the left side-rail which can easily be replaced. The old chair incised D has had the rear seat-rail strengthened and the leaf on the top right of the side rail has been chipped off but can easily be restored. Evidence of old woodworm which appears to be no longer active. One leather seat of an old chair is very distressed.
"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:
Lucy Wood, The Upholstered Furniture in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, 2008, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, Vol. II, no. 68, pp. 738-756.
Napoleon: la collection napoléonienne de la cité imperiale, Exposition Musée Fesch, Ajaccio, 03/05–30/12/2005, Lucy Wood, Le mobilier du cardinal Fesch destiné au palais Buffalo Ferraioli, à Rome, p. 45-52.

This set of six chairs carved in walnut and stamped A,D, E and F and VII and XVIII in Roman numerals on the inside of the seat-rails, were almost certainly part of the celebrated and much more extensive suite made for Cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763- 1839), probably made for the Palazzo Buffalo Ferraioli, in Rome, around 1806. The group of Fesch chairs are discussed extensively by Lucy Wood, op. cit. pp. 738-756. Most of the suite was later inventoried at his residence l’hôtel Hocquart de Montfermeil in Paris in 1815 and comprised ninety-six pieces. The Emperor’s emblem, the imperial eagle and the victory crown on the pediment possibly indicate that they were designed for an intended visit of his nephew, the Emperor Napoleon to Fesch’s palace in Rome.

Subsequently, part of the suite was catalogued for sale at Fesch’s Paris residence by Thiesson-Creteil, 17^th June 1816 (and following days), lot 444, but apparently withdrawn. Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, his principal heir, probably inherited most of the suite in 1839. Within two years some of the furniture was acquired by Prince Anatole Demidoff for the Villa San Donato, Florence (as shown in two drawings of the ballroom there, by Fortuné de Fournier, dated 1841). This part of the suite was later sold from San Donato by Paul Demidoff (nephew and heir of Anatole Demidoff) in the celebrated Demidoff sale on 15^th March 1880, lots 5, 143-144, 1082-1084. The furniture has subsequently been purchased in the main for public collections in Europe and the U.S.A. (for example Malmaison, France, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (mostly on loan to the White House), and the James Monroe Memorial Library in Virginia). Other remaining pieces appeared on the art market before the Second World War, especially at the Sangiorgi Gallery in Rome. A further group of fourteen pieces (chairs, armchairs and sofas) was bequeathed by Fesch to his home town, Ajaccio, Corsica, and remains at the Musée Fesch there.

It is worthwhile noting that the workshops and makers have not been identified, but designs for Fesch’s furniture were made by the brothers Lorenzo and Dionisio Santi, two architects from Sienna. A design for the present chairs was published by Santi (probably Dionisio) in Modèles de Meubles et de décorations interieurs, pour l’Ameublement…dessines par M. Santi (1828)–Plate 41.

We are grateful for Lucy Wood's assistance in the cataloguing of the chairs.