The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 7, 2026

Two ornate walnut and gold chairs feature dark wood tones and shimmering highlights. Tall backrests display grinning faces framed by scrolls and crested tops. Below, octagonal seats contain circular depressions. Wide trestle panels replace legs, carved with central ovals and scrolling leaf patterns. Gold leaf emphasizes the deep ridges, faces, and edges of the ornate woodwork, creating high contrast against the dark, textured walnut.

Pair of Chairs, Sgabello type

late 1500s

Italy, late 16th century

walnut
Overall: 100.3 x 33.7 x 44.2 cm (39 1/2 x 13 1/4 x 17 3/8 in.)
Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.610
Location: Not on view
  • formerly in Earl Foley Collection; John L. Severance, Cleveland.
  • John Long Severance Art Collection Photographs: Furniture, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. Mentioned: p. 225; Reproduced p. 227 archive.org
    Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942. Mentioned: p. 35, cat. no. 38, 39 archive.org
    Milliken, William M., Gertrude Underhill, and Jean Mailey. "Department of Decorative Arts." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 9 (November 1942): 137-151. Mentioned: p. 140 www.jstor.org
  • Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
    Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943).
  • {{cite web|title=Pair of Chairs, Sgabello type|url=false|author=|year=late 1500s|access-date=07 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.610