Bugatti's Eccentric Lectern
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Carlo Bugatti (1856 - 1940), lectern, circa 1880 - 90, ebonised wood, wood, brass, ivory, pewter, vellum, cord, bone, 111 x 42.5 x 42.5 cm, illustrated at pages 34 and 35 of the Bugatti - Carlo, Rembrandt, Ettore, Jean Exhibition Catalogue, with text by Amanda Dunsmore and John Payne, for the National gallery of Victoria [2009], where it was the first item shown. Private Collection, Melbourne. For most people the world of Bugatti is associated with cars, and the interest in Bugatti cars in Australia has been well documented, with several cars that were purchased new in the 1920s remaining in the country. However, the Bugatti story is a much larger one, encompassing three generations and four remarkable personalities: Carlo, his sons Ettore and Rembrandt, and Ettore's son Jean...... Carlo Bugatti has fascinated scholars and collectors alike....His work exists at the margins of recognised artistic movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, yet its sheer creativity is an expression of such a free-thinking mind that his work remains inherently fascinating.....By 1888 Carlo had established a furniture manufacturing workshop at Via Castelfidardo 6, Milan. His eccentric designs had clearly found a market and in the same year he was exhibiting bedroom furnishings at the Milan Industrial Arts Exhibition and, more significantly, at the Italian Exhibition in Earl's Court, London. (Dunsmore & Payne).
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- Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.
Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.
In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.
In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.
The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.
Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory - Ebonised - Timber that has been stained or lacquered black in imitation of ebony. The process has been used since the Renaissance, but is most commonly found in late 19th century furniture, sometimes gilded and turned in imitation of bamboo. Furniture with an ebonised finish is not currently in vogue, and this is reflected in the price for such pieces.
- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Gallery - On furniture, a gallery is a small upright section, frequently pierced and decorated, around the tops of small items of furniture, such as davenports, side tables, and so forth. Galleries are made in brass or bronze,and be fretted, pierced or solid timber. A three-quarter gallery is one that surrounds three of the four sides of a table, desk or other top.
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