Pair of crab-form Grotto chairs attributed to Pauly et Cie

The pair of chairs attributed to Pauly et Cie, Venice, Italy

Each polychrome decorated chair with hinged back opening to reveal an upholstered velvet seat, all set on a naturalistic base in the form of a shell

Height of chair when open 108cm, height of chair when closed 60cm

'Grotto' furniture was named this way among the European nobility who built shell-encrusted pavilions and grottos during the 18th and 19th Centuries. In the late 19th Century, Pauly et Cie were the leading makers of 'Grotto' furniture in Venice.