Rare Moses Michelangelo Guggenheim & Pauly Cie Et Venice Antique Carved Armoire

Where to begin, this cabinet is stamped to the rear “Fabrique De Meubles Pauly & Cie Venise. Pauly & Cie” who were a world famous glass foundry and later equally famous furniture manufacturer. Their grotto furniture has an immense following across the world. This piece was most likely retailed through them as it was made by Moses Michelangelo Guggenheim who is a fellow venetian

There is one other known example of his works which is very similar, it is currently retailing for no less than £900,000 however it is accompanied by a few other pieces from a drawing room suite. The suite came from Palazzo Papadopoli, a Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal in Venice built for the Coccini family by Giovanni de Grigi around 1560. I will include some further history below on both Pauly CIE ET and Moses Michelangelo Guggenheium

On to the armoire, it is clearly the most ornate tour de force of carving you will ever see, I’m thankful it has managed to survive so long without being broken up by salvagers looking to reclaim the sculptures. You can see in the carving elements of Pauly’s inspiration in the form of shells. You also have Putti’s riding dolphins and so on. We have fully treated it as there were various signs of old worm, it’s then been cleaned waxed and polished. One of the hidden hinges has been replaced, otherwise it is in near perfect condition for the age. The insides houses three wood shelves

Dimensions

Height 255.5cm top to bottom, without the removable top carving 211cm

Width 170cm arm to arm of the chaps on the outside, 172cm at the top, 166cm at the bottom

Depth 63cm top, 55cm middle, 59cm bottom

Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point

Moses Michelangelo Guggenheim

Leading expert of decorative arts in late 19th century Venice, Michelangelo Guggenheim (1831-1910) also was one of the greatest antiquarians and a modern furniture producer in the “City of Water”. His collections stored in the Balbi Palace on the Grand Canal were an outstanding sight, that art amateurs would recommend.

At the age of 20, he founds a “Stabilimento d’arti decorative e industriali” which purpose is the industrial creation of objects bearing an artistic force. The furniture that made him worldwide famous re-imagines ancient styles, freeing their aesthetic powers to serve modern imagination. Often in walnut, his pieces of furniture sent to World Fairs impress people by the finesse of their sculptures.

A prized designer as well, he reorganizes princely interiors in the same spirit. His most famous work is the Palazzo Papadopoli’s design about 1874, where he unfolds the vocabulary of several periods. He conceives there a richly furnished Neo-Renaissance Cabinet that relived the Italian golden age. For the exceptional result he is awarded the Gold Medal of merit for science and arts by Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Pauly & Cie Venise

Since its foundation (1866), Pauly & C. has stood for elegance, creativity and Venetian luxury. The ancient Roman technique known as “murrine”, which today is the symbol of Murano glass, was reproduced for the first time in its workshops and was presented to the world at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878.

In 150 years of business Pauly & C. has produced unique works for royal palaces, public buildings, private villas and has served an international client base that includes some of the most prominent names from the world of culture and art, figures from the world of industry and finance, politicians and nobility.

Pauly & C. – C.V.M. (compagnia Venezia Murano) works are currently held in many private collections and exhibited in some of the most prestigious museums in the world.

In the last years of activity, Pauly has been active with three distinct brands: • Pauly & C. CVM, the time-honoured company that produces classic objects, recreating old designs and collections and offering modern reinterpretations of them. • Pauly Glass Factory, which continues its association with artists and designers to produce artistic works with modern lines. • MVM Interior operates throughout the world with architects, interior designers and design studios for the creation of prestigious personalized projects

History

Compagnia di Venezia e Murano C.V.M. began as Salviati &C. in London in 1866 under the direction of Vicenza attorney Antonio Salviati and with the backing of two British men: archaeologist Austen Henry Layard and antiquarian Sir William Drake.

The company was dedicated to using ancient techniques and utilized master glassblowers in its efforts to do so. It called in specialists from other fields like goldsmithing and engraving to ensure authenticity and employed artist Giuseppe Devers to teach the techniques of enamelling and heat-applied glass gilding to company artisans.

Archaeologist Layard was particularly interested in the mosaic glass techniques of Roman and pre-Roman artists, and he spent years personally overseeing the work of the company’s technicians and glassblowers in attempting to revive those techniques. In 1872, the company was successful, managing to replicate the type of glass commonly known as “murrina”. The company was renamed Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Company Limited in 1872, and, in 1877, Layard purchased Salviati’s interest so that Salviati could pursue other interests.

The company quickly earned a reputation for quality original glass art and reproductions as well as its many mural mosaics in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe. In 1878, the murrine produced by Compagnia di Venezia e Murano was included in its exhibit at the International Exhibition in Paris, which was the chief attraction in Italian glass. In its observations of the display, the United States Commission to the Paris exposition commented not only on “Roman murrine glass”, but also particularly on the mural glass mosaics, the “perfection of which” had “engaged the earnest attention of the company.” Mosaics produced by the company during the time period are still in existence in diverse areas such as Gonville and Caius College Chapel in Cambridge; St Paul’s Within the Walls in Rome, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Westminster Cathedral in London, Old South Church in Boston the Chamberlain Memorial in Birmingham, Palazzo Barbarigo and the Senate House rooms in the United States. The last specimen, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, was produced and donated in 1866.

Through the last years of the 19th century, Compagnia di Venezia e Murano took part in many other displays. Prior to the 1878 exhibition in Paris, it had shown at the Maritime Exhibition in Naples and the Trieste Exhibition in 1871 and at the International Exhibition in Vienna in 1873, where it won 13 prizes for decorative arts.

It unveiled a new focus in 1881 with the display of the first of its glass phoenixes at the National Exhibition in Milan. It exported several thousand works for display at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, also setting up a kiln so that the public could observe the company’s glass blowing techniques.

In 1895, it exhibited at the first Venice Biennale (an event at which it would also feature later), with artisan Vincenzo Moretti taking prizes and artisan Attilio Spaccarelli earning special note for his engraving. 1900 saw a change in the company when its British owners sold their interest to a businessman from Venice named Tosolini, who was the owner of shops in St. Mark’s Square. Under Tosoloni’s ownership, the company stopped production in 1909, though it continued commercial distribution at St. Mark’s Square.

Merger with Pauly & C Pauly & C was formed in 1903 by Emilio Pauly, Alessandro Hirscber Hellman, Vittorio Emanuele Toldo and Ernesto Graziadei, opening showrooms in Palazzo Trevisan Cappello, which would remain the headquarters of the company until its closure in 2007 for restoration. In 1919, Pauly & C. and Compagnia di Venezia e Murano were both purchased by the Milan Società Anonima Sanitaria, which resold them the following year to Gaetano Ceschina of Milan. The newly merged company, retitled to its present name, continued display in its previous locations of St. Mark’s Square and the Palazzo Trevisan Cappello. In 1925, the merged company resumed production of glassworks on Murano and began exhibiting again at the Monza Tirennale.

Post-merger growth and development

The company grew in 1933 with the acquisition of Maestri Vetrai Muranesi Cappellin, or MVM Cappellin, a glass company formed in 1925 by Paolo Venini and Giacomo Cappellin, which transferred to them rights to the works and designs of the MVM Cappellin artists such as Vittorio Zecchin and Carlo Scarpa.

The company expanded into commissioned chandeliers, with notable pieces from the period being placed in such locations as the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome; the Vatican Palace, and the Royal Palace in Copenhagen. More recently, interior lighting has been designed for such places as the Palazzo Bezzi in Ravenna and the Al Assawi family palace. In 1990, the company again expanded with the acquisition of Toso Vetri d’Arte glassworks.

Transition Ceschina sold his interest in the company in 1963 to the Barbon family, who retained it until 1976, when they sold to Andrea Boscaro. Boscaro owned the company for almost 30 years before 2005. Pauly & C. has ceased its operations in 2016.

Condition

Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description around condition

Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of cracking creasing and wear, we recommend regular waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade.