Pair of chairs; Casa del Rio, Oviedo, c. 1900.

Pair of chairs; Casa del Rio, Oviedo, c. 1900.
Oak wood.
Signed.
Measurements: 133,5 x 45 x 41,5 cm (x2).
In 1881, the brothers José and Bernabé del Río started up a cabinetmaking workshop which, with the passage of time, became a benchmark firm in the integral decoration of interiors, both for public buildings and for prominent Asturian families. Under the name of Casa del Río, the company established itself as one of the most important businesses in nineteenth-century Asturias, maintaining its activity until 1985. Throughout four generations, the workshop was able to adapt to aesthetic and technical changes, although it finally succumbed to the irruption of large industrial firms and new mass production systems.
Among its most notable commissions are the ornamentation of the old Palacio de la Diputación de Oviedo, now the headquarters of the Junta General, the main office of the Banco Herrero in the Asturian capital, several urban mansions, houses of Indianos in Llanes and Colombres (including the Archivo de Indianos), the mansion of the García Sol family in Granda (Gijón) and residences of wealthy Asturians in cities such as Madrid and Santander.
The artistic direction fell to Félix del Río, heir to the family tradition, who was responsible for conceiving and drawing the designs that defined each project. A selection of these sketches could be seen in 2013, in the exhibition "Furniture to keep. Chests and cabinets from the 14th to the 20th centuries", organized by the Museo del Pueblu d'Asturies.