A stunning pair of early 20th century Carlo Bugatti (1856 - 1940) side or desk chairs, which are often called ''Gong'' chairs because of the copper and parchment disk in the backrest.
Bugatti pieces are very recognizable in style and craftmanship, very rare and the market for it is growing increasingly. According to Shannon Loughrey of Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) : “Carlo Bugatti furniture is incredibly rare and people vie for it more and more. It’s not like an Eames chair, where there are thousands of copies and you can wait for the perfect example. The values keep going up and up.” (source: Liveauctioneers website article: Carlo Bugatti nothing succeeds like excess )
Bugatti furniture is often characterized as an eclectic mix of North African, Moorish, Middle Eastern, and Japanese aesthetics. Bugatti trained as an architect in Milan and at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1880 he started to manufacture furniture in Milan, later transferring to France. From 1888 he became internationally recognized. Until 1904 he maintained a Milan workshop on Via Castelfiardo. Well known for extraordinary fantasy like furniture designs, he used a wide range of materials like bone, pewter, stamped copper, parchment, and knotted silk rope and tassels.
''The daring mix of cultures and diverse media consistently resulted in works that were inimitable in style, claimed by no single culture but fomented in the designer’s mind. Bugatti once responded to the Queen of Italy’s compliment of his Moorish style, “You are mistaken, the style is mine.” (Source: Website article ''The Inimitable Designs of Carlo Bugatti'' by Elizabeth Williams)
Another interesting fact about Carlo Bugatti; he was the father of the worldfamous automobile designer and manufacturer Ettore Bugatti! His other son was sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti.
These chairs come from a private collection and have been restored meticulously with respect to their originality. The original parchment has been left under the new parchment. The tassels have been reconstructed in silk and underneath both chairs, the underside of the original seats is left as is.The stamped copper parts as well as the intarsia in brass and pewter is original and complete.
Creator
Carlo Bugatti
Manufacturer
Design Period
1900s
Production Period
ca. 1900
Country of Manufacture
Italy
Identifying Marks
Style
Art Nouveau, Art Deco,
Detailed Condition
Good - restored
Restoration and Damage Details
Reupholstered. Replacements made: New upholstery in parchment (original upholstery still present underneath) Also. the original seat suspension still visible when looked underneath. Reconstructed tassels in silk (after the original) Intarsia is original and complete. restoration by renowned specialists in restoring Bugatti furniture for private collectors and museums (more information available on request).
