Bugatti Walnut, Pewter and Copper Stool - Painted by Carlo Bugatti c. 1904

This wonderful stool, of exhibition quality and in exemplary condition, was made by Carlo Bugatti. He was influenced by African, Islamic and Gothic designs, creating his masterpieces from walnut, pewter and copper and covering them in hand painted vellum

The walnut frame is inlaid with pewter grasses, vines and trefoils, banded with ebony, pewter, bone and oak parquetry, the legs wrapped in fine foliate hand embossed copper, the seat surround and outer wings all with beautifully embossed copper panels and each of the velum panels is hand painted.

In his Paris workshop Bugatti produced luxury furniture, instructing and supervising a small team of skilled craftsmen to make his designs and to upholster them in finest velum. The paintings and the calligraphy were, however, always added by hand by Carlo himself and this stool has been decorated by him - the design is completely unique.

This singular piece is a rare personal work of art by one of the most prestigious and talented designers of the last two centuries.

The Bugatti family were supremely talented. Carlo Bugatti was born in Milan in 1856. He designed the most extraordinary furniture and jewellery - so far ahead of the time that his pieces were jaw dropping ... and still are. He is considered the first to realise rather than dream modern furniture. Carlos son, Ettore, founded the Bugatti car company aged 28 in 1909 and produced the most beautiful cars ever made. His younger son, Rembrandt, was a truly gifted sculptor whose bronzes of the animals he studied in Paris and Antwerp in the early 1900s now sell, as do Ettores cars, for millions of pounds.