Description
Hello, my name is Jenna Bloomquist from Riverside, Ca. I found some old lookin' carved wood pieces in a pile of branches and broken things and I took them home and put them together and this is what I found!!! They are in almost perfect condition, one chair has a small chip in the back foot. I know that they are Savonarolas but I want to know more and how much they could be worth. Please and Thank you
Re: old chairs
This piece is a late 19th century "Dantesca" chair, an variation of the "Savonarola" chair. The style gets its name from Girolamo Savonarola (September 21, 1452 – May 23, 1498), who was a late 15th Century
Catholic Monk often pictured seated in such a chair. His fame was his crusade against what he called "The Vanities". His followers collected up the things Savonarola claimed were immodest and held huge
bonfires. In 1498 they held the last bonfire of the vanities and burned Savonarola. At auction they generally sell for a couple of hundred bucks a piece
Re: old chairs
Thank you very much for the information on the chairs. Does anyone know where I could sell them? And how do I know if they arwe a reproduction?
Re: old chairs
I have these exact chairs, two of them.
My parents purchased 12 chairs with their friends as a group activity/fun. These particular chairs were sold as kits around the 1960's.
My understanding is that they were mail order items from Spain (accuracy of origin subject to my mothers memory), advertised on the back of magazines as a project for friends/family to assemble.
They came in a box with instructions that referanced how the act of assembling the chairs made the new owners a part of the living history.
So in that way they are authentic, however they are in all likelyhood pre-fab chairs sold in mass production about 40-50 years ago.
I've seen one on craigslist from time to time (Orange county / Southern California section) listed for $95 with torn leather seat. I do not believe the item sold at that price because of the damage.
Hope that helps.
~Patience