This elegant piano stool made from carved walnut wood with a swivel seat in the “grotto” style is part of the extravagant and whimsical production typical of the second half of the 19th century, in which the desire to escape from everyday reality was sought through the introduction of unusual and bizarre elements into private homes that recalled exotic lands and enchanted worlds.
While adopting hybrid elements of various styles such as the Renaissance-derived lion's paws, 18th-century-style rocailles carvings and the naturalistically inspired shell-shaped seat, the “grotto” style breaks away from the revivalist production of the time in its search for a new language, the dignity of which is equal to that of the other ornamental typologies that were unsuccessfully revived for interior furniture and decoration in the 19th century.
Lo sgabello è riconducibile alla produzione dei Fratelli Testolini a capo di una operosa industria del mobile virtuosistico attiva dal 1847 agli anni Trenta del XX secolo, con sede al pianterreno di palazzo Labia a Cannaregio a Venezia. La ditta si specializzò proprio nella realizzazione di arredi in stile “a grotta” che comprendevano tutte le tipologie di mobilia e di complementi destinate all'arredo di un salotto.
