We showcased Carlo Bugatti’s furniture with a gallery dedicated to chairs, sofas and benches a while back.
But when the Milan-born sculptor and designer (1855-1940) moved to Paris in the early 1900s, his workshop on Rue Jeanne-d’Arc turned into a smithy of wondrous pieces, merging dozens of styles from Gothic to Japanese, from Byzantine to Persian and Greek – we had to come back to his incredible work.
Each piece contributes to the enchanted world created by Carlo Bugatti, which is “unlike any other” according to Philippe Dejean: “A journey of sorts that mixes art history’s entire decor repertoire and achieves a fantastic extrapolation, almost like a mirage, a toy, something we can barely believe” (translated from Ph. Dejean, “Carlo-Rembrandt-Ettore-Jean Bugatti”, Automobilia, Milan 1982).
Here are some examples of the furniture in Carlo Bugatti’s enchanted world.
Credenza with mirror, wood with yellow and light blue metal inlay, decorated with copper applications
Wall-mounted piece with mirror, black painted wood with bone and metal inlay
Desk and chair in black painted wood, with bone and metal inlay, covered in parchment
Three-panel screen in black painted wood, with metal inlay and covered with parchment
Wooden armoire covered in parchment, decorated with copper disks
Four-panel wooden screen, with mother of pear and coral inlay
Wooden armoire with metal and copper inlay
