Italian furniture designer Carlo Bugatti may not have achieved the fame of his son, automobile manufacturer Ettore Bugatti, but his work is equally revered. Culling motifs from Asian, Middle Eastern, North African and Gothic designs, the elder Bugatti (1856–1940) fashioned furnishings that are flamboyant medleys of swooping curves and asymmetry, as well as geometric carving, metal inlays, silk tassels and painted parchment.
Working primarily on commission in his native Italy and in France, Bugatti embraced the excess of the Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau, paving the way for future visionaries like Piero Fornasetti and the Memphis design collective.
Antiques dealer Francis Lord has shepherded dozens of Bugatti pieces through his Montreal shop, Milord Antiques, and its sister space at the New York Design Center. Among his current offerings is a side chair that the designer produced in 1902, which Lord plans to exhibit at this year’s Winter Show, running January 24 through February 2 at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. Lord’s booth will be adorned with metallic bronze wallcovering from English producer Fromental, providing an attractive complement to Bugatti’s earthy, organic designs.
Although less elaborate than some of Bugatti’s other pieces, the chair is a brilliant encapsulation of his oeuvre. Its rectilinear walnut frame is accented with a hand-embellished goatskin-parchment back that surrounds a medallion crafted from embossed copper ringed by walnut inlaid with copper, brass and pewter.
The sides of the parchment seat are decorated with more medallions, and the chair’s turned legs are paired with sleek walnut splints that provide additional support. Fretwork, spindles and drops underscore the piece’s Moorish styling.
Bugatti was creating furniture at a time when people were beginning to travel more, and his work reflects the growing interest in other cultures. But he wasn’t merely copying the styles he saw, Lord says. “He didn’t try to imitate anything. He was creating something all his own.”
Although the artist produced other chairs that are similar to this one, his furnishings were never mass-produced, and no two pieces are alike. “There’s always something that’s different, whether it’s hand-painted decoration on the parchment or a tassel,” says Lord, who sold a Bugatti chair and desk to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2023.
Bugatti’s creations are valued for their beauty and rarity rather than their practicality. “I’ve yet to see a comfortable Carlo Bugatti chair,” Lord says with a laugh. But that hasn’t diminished his work’s appeal to collectors — and even production designers, who included Bugatti-inspired furniture in the recent fantasy films Dune: Part Two and Alien: Covenant. “Any designer that is still sought-after 150 years later,” Lord observes, “was probably a great talent.”
