"Grotto" chair; Italy, Venice, 1950s.

"Grotto" chair; Italy, Venice, 1950s.
Carved wood.
Measurements: 93 x 37 x 39 cm.
Carved wooden chair with an organic design inspired by the forms of nature. The history of grotto chairs is linked to the "grottoes" or artificial grottoes, pavilions decorated with shells built by the European nobility in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. As a result of this trend, a style of "grotto" furniture was created, especially popular in Venice in the late 19th century, with pieces such as chairs, tables and consoles inspired by the shape of seashells, dolphins and other elements of the sea. The Venetian company Pauly et Cie was one of the main manufacturers of this type of furniture.