If his name sounds familiar, his son Ettore went on to create the esteemed Bugatti automobile, and other son Rembrandt Bugatti became a renowned sculptor. Carlo was born in 1856 in Milan which, at that time, was not part of Italy but part of the Kingdom of Lombardy (the Kingdom officially became part of Italy in 1866). He studied both at the Brera Academy in Milan and the legendary Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris. Starting in 1880, he began to manufacture furniture, working in Milan and Paris. And around the turn of the century he seemed to hit his stride, creating stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces. But nothing quite beats his Throne Chair.
The asymmetrical Throne Chair feels a little Moroccan, West African, maybe Mongolian, with a bit of Egyptian thrown in, perhaps a little Gothic as well, all seen through an Art Nouveau lens. It was, after all, created smack dab in the middle of the Art Nouveau movement in Europe during which a fascination with all things "Orientalist" blossomed. This trend covered any area that was considered "exotic" to Western Europe like Egypt, Turkey, all the way to Japan. And the Throne Chair includes materials and craftsmanship that represent those areas: wood inlaid with bone and metal, copper, rope...and the round shield seat back features a painted vellum insert on brass.
Of course there is no current Bugatti furniture studio, no one "holds the rights" to any of his pieces. We only have what reamins of his creations. Bugatti himself kept no production records so it is impossible to tell how many pieces he created, much less how many Throne Chairs exist. Some estimates put his creations at less than 1,000 pieces of furniture in total, if that. In fact, a Bugatti Throne Chair last sold at auction for $30,000 several years ago...and I suspect the next time it comes up, it will sell for much more than that.
Happy designing!
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