Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Antique Italian Grotto Furniture Settee Carved Wood Needlepoint Tapestry Seating

$20,479.82
£15,000
€17,645.12
CA$28,517.12
A$30,640.06
CHF 16,438.33
MX$360,975.20

About the Item

Antique Italian Grotto Furniture Settee Carved Wood Needlepoint Tapestry Seating Italian, 19th Century Height 92cm, width 151cm, depth 56cm Dating to the 19th century, this Italian settee reflects an era in which furniture design favoured drama, movement, and virtuoso carving. Its form and decoration place it firmly within the tradition of grotto furniture, a style that enjoyed particular popularity in the latter decades of the century. Grotto furniture belongs to a playful and imaginative branch of decorative arts often described as ‘fantasy furniture’. Its roots can be traced back to the 16th century, when European aristocrats developed a fascination with artificial grottoes - ornamental cave-like spaces adorned with shells and marine imagery. By the late 19th century, especially in Venice, this taste evolved into richly carved furniture made largely for affluent Grand Tour visitors. Typically fashioned from wood and sometimes enhanced with a lustrous silvered finish known as meccha, these pieces drew inspiration from the natural and aquatic world, incorporating shells, dolphins, coral forms, and flowing organic lines. This particular settee features a fully carved wooden structure with an open, sculptural back and arms composed of interlaced, naturalistic forms. The surface is enlivened with carved foliage, fantastical masks, and textured details that suggest organic growth. Elegant turned legs support the frame, while the seat is finished with needlepoint upholstery, introducing warmth and colour in contrast to the intricately worked wood. This settee is a functional seat while also serving as a sculptural statement piece, embodying the creativity and expressive freedom that define Italian grotto furniture.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 36.23 in (92 cm)Width: 59.45 in (151 cm)Depth: 22.05 in (56 cm)
  • Style:
    Grand Tour (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Thread,Wood,Carved,Needlepoint
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    19th Century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 181401stDibs: LU956348337392

More From This Seller

View All
Large Rococo Revival Carved Giltwood Sofa
Located in London, GB
A large Rococo revival carved giltwood sofa French, Late 19th Century Height 135cm, width 196cm, depth 90cm This excellent antique piece is a large...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Rococo Revival Sofas

Materials

Upholstery, Giltwood

Beauvais Tapestry and Beech Wood Furniture Suite
By Beauvais Royal Manufactory
Located in London, GB
This five-piece furniture suite is an elegant piece of early 18th-century French design. The suite, which is comprised of a canapé (sofa) and four fauteuils (armchairs), is crafted from carved beech wood and Beauvais tapestry...
Category

Antique 1720s French Louis XV Living Room Sets

Materials

Tapestry, Upholstery, Beech

Large French Giltwood Ornate Antique Sofa
Located in London, GB
Large French giltwood ornate antique sofa French, Early 20th Century Height 100cm, width 214cm, depth 75cm Upholstered with lavish decorative leopard...
Category

Early 20th Century French Rococo Sofas

Materials

Upholstery, Giltwood

Antique French Empire Style Mahogany and Gilt Bronze Couch
Located in London, GB
Antique French Empire style mahogany and gilt bronze couch French, late 19th century Dimensions: Height 107cm, width 192cm, depth 72cm This beautiful canapé style couch...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Empire Canapes

Materials

Ormolu

Large French Rococo Revival Style Giltwood Sofa
Located in London, GB
Large French Rococo Revival style giltwood sofa. French, late 19th century. Measures: height 135cm, width 196cm, depth 90cm. This remarkable piece is a large, French, Rococo rev...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Rococo Revival Sofas

Materials

Upholstery, Giltwood

Italian Baroque Style Three-Piece Upholstery and Giltwood Seating Suite
Located in London, GB
Italian Baroque style three-piece upholstery and giltwood seating suite Italian, 20th century Measures: Settee: Height 164cm, width 261cm, depth 84cm Armchairs: Height 151cm, widt...
Category

20th Century Italian Baroque Living Room Sets

Materials

Upholstery, Velvet, Giltwood

You May Also Like

Breathtaking George II Style Carved Wood Settee with Needlepoint Upholstery
By Thomas Chippendale Jr.
Located in Bradenton, FL
George II Revival triple back settee was created in the style of the beloved Thomas Chippendale. From the scaled and scalloped back and zoomorphic armrests to the hairy ball-and-claw...
Category

Antique 19th Century English George II Settees

Materials

Textile, Wood

20th C. Ornate French Renaissance Revival, Carved, Upholstered Salon Settee!!
Located in Austin, TX
20th C. Ornate French Renaissance Revival, Carved, Upholstered Salon Settee, 1900's 20th Century! Gorgeous Salon Settee, Ornate French,  Renaissance Revival, Figural, Carved, Uphol...
Category

20th Century French Renaissance Revival Settees

Materials

Wood

Antique 19th Century French Walnut Settee, Original Needlepoint Petit Point
Located in New Orleans, LA
Antique late 19th century French walnut settee with original needlepoint and petit point.
Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Settees

Materials

Walnut

Fantastic Needlepoint Upholstered Venetian or Italian Louis XV Style Settee
Located in Swedesboro, NJ
This enchanting 19th-century Italian settee—almost certainly of Venetian origin—is a superb example of the richly decorative seating furniture produced in Northern Italy during the mid-to-late 1800s. Crafted around the 1870s, the piece combines a beautifully carved and shaped wooden frame with extraordinary hand-worked needlepoint upholstery, depicting classical and pastoral scenes surrounded by floral and foliate motifs. Its sweeping, serpentine back and gracefully scrolled arms reflect the unmistakable Venetian flair for theatricality, elegance, and lyrical movement. The upholstery—executed entirely in hand-stitched needlepoint—features an evocative central figural tableau portraying a romanticized landscape scene, flanked by abundant urns overflowing with flowers and scrolling acanthus. Even the seat is adorned with intricate tapestry-woven patterns rendered in soft, muted tones of blue, sage, cream, ochre, and plum. The natural wear, minor fading, and small areas of age-related needlepoint deterioration are consistent with its 150-year history and contribute significantly to its antique charm. These minor damages are easily repairable by a skilled textile conservator but may also be appreciated as authentic markers of age that enhance its decorative character. The carved wooden frame is finished in a warm, gently worn gilt and gesso surface with traces of original polychrome. The cabriole legs, scalloped apron, and scrollwork along the crest and arms highlight the settee’s Rococo and Venetian Baroque influences. Nailhead trim, applied by hand, outlines the silhouette and provides a refined finishing touch typical of high-quality Italian upholstery work of the period. Perfect as a statement piece in a salon, entry hall, bedroom, or gallery, this settee offers an irresistible blend of Italian artistry, textile history, and sculptural presence. Its size, form, and craftsmanship make it equally suitable for collectors of Continental decorative arts and designers seeking an authentic Old-World focal point with a sense of romance and narrative depth. A remarkable survival from 19th-century Italy, this Venetian needlepoint settee...
Category

Antique 1870s Italian Louis XV Loveseats

Materials

Walnut

Antique Italian Renaissance Revival Walnut Carved Parlor Settee Loveseat 60"
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique Italian Neo-Renaissance parlor settee / loveseat / bench, circa 1870s. Made of walnut featuring Neoclassical styling with high relief figural carvings of cherubs / puttis, N...
Category

Antique 1870s Renaissance Settees

Materials

Upholstery, Walnut

Antique Jacobean Style Needlepoint Tapestry Open Arm Chair with Carved Wood
Located in Greer, SC
A beautifully carved antique throne or hall chair in the Jacobean style with medieval scenery needlepoint. European circa early 1900's, either French or Italian with a stunning class...
Category

Early 20th Century Jacobean Armchairs

Materials

Metal