A 17th century Indo-Portugese carved and later gilt low chair

Footnotes

Provenance:
Marc-André Raffalovich (1864-1934) and thence by descent to the vendors.

A related chair of late 16th century date sold Bonhams, Chester, 19 January 2012, lot 379. These distinctive low chairs originated in the Bay of Bengal (now Easter India and Bangladesh). The chair is of a local form but decorated with European Renaissance motifs and hence intended for export to the West. The chair sold previously at Bonhams Chester corresponds to the pattern of two chairs at Loseley Park, Surrey. The unsubstantiated story of the Loseley chairs suggests that they were part of a set used by the Ladies in Waiting of Queen Elizabeth I and perhaps lends credence to the idea that they were presented as diplomatic gifts. A further example of a chair of related pattern forms part of the collection of the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona, Museu Monestir de Pedralbes and was exhibited in Luxury for Export - Artistic Exchange between India and Portugal around 1600, at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Musuem, Boston, U.S.A, 8 February - 4 May 2008.


The exchange of goods between India and Portugal is well established and Vasco de Gama and one of his captains are known to have offered chairs as diplomatic gifts as early as 1498. More refined items were exported to the West after the conquest of Goa and before 1515 Afonso de Albuquerque received a table with its feet, all covered in gold' from a local ruler to be sent to D.Manuel I. Two low chairs from India had reached the Spanish court by the third quarter of the 16th century and are depicted by the Italian painter Federico Zuccaro in his 'Annunciation' altarpiece for the Escorial near Madrid. One of these chairs is completely Indian in its form while the other example known as the 'Cadira de la reina' is Indian in form but as with the chair offered here utilises European Renaissance motifs in its decoration. See P.Mourra Caravalho, A. Hawley and A.Chong, in Lokvani, 'Identifying Indo-Portugese Art', 2008.

The art patron and writer Marc-André Raffalovich was born into a wealthy Jewish family from Odessa who moved to Paris in the 1860's. His mother who was highly cultured, established a salon in Paris attracting the likes of Sarah Bernhardt and Robert Louis Stevenson. Raffalovich came to London intending to study at Oxford but instead settling in London and establishing his own salon which was attended by Oscar Wilde, who famously quipped in relation to Raffalovich "'He came to London with the intention of opening a salon, and he has succeeded in opening a saloon." Raffalovich was also a patron of Aubrey Beardsley and befriended James McNeil Whistler.

Raffalovich wrote extensively on sexuality and was the partner of the poet John Grey (1852-1928). When John Grey was ordained as a priest in 1905, Raffalovich converted to Catholicism and moved to Edinburgh with Grey where Raffalovich largely funded the cost of building St Peter's Church in Morningside designed by Sir Robert Lorimer. Raffolvich established another salon in Edinburgh where attendees included Max Beerbohm, Margaret Sackville and Compton Mackenzie and he continued to support young artists including Eric Gill.