More on Lacca Povera

A red Lacca Povera bureau cabinet,
Venetian, first half of the 18th century,
from the collection of Dodie Rozekrans.
Sothebys auction NO8818, lot 309.
Sold:  $122,500.

Somehow the original essay on Lacca Povera that was intended to be the current post appears as if it were published a week earlier;  in case you missed it, it can be seen here.  But while we're on the topic, I thought you Devoted Readers would enjoy seeing this bureau cabinet from the collection of the late San Francisco-based socialite Dodie Rosekrans sold at auction in 2011.  This Venetian piece is Baroque in overall form, dating from the first half of the 18th century, but the concave sides of the base and the mid section reflect the coming Rococo style.  The pagoda top and oriental scenes identify this as being in the "alla cinese" taste.  For more about the lady and the sale, see the post from the archives of  The Style Saloniste by Diane Dorrans Saeks.


A Lacca Povera bureau cabinet in the bedroom
of interior designer Ann Getty.
A detail from a photo by Lisa Romerein from
ANN GETTY INTERIOR STYLE
by Diane Dorrans Saeks,
published by Rizzoli, October, 2012.

And speaking of author Diane Dorrans Saeks, one of this season's stand-outs in new design books promises to be ANN GETTY INTERIOR STYLE.  Although I have not yet seen the book, the preview photos reveal an insightful look at the lavish interiors created by the socialite and philanthropist Ann Getty, who founded her own interior design firm Ann Getty Associates in 1995.  (A lady of great taste and a fortune to match, Mrs. Getty and her husband were valued clients of Parish-Hadley during my tenure there, although the Gettys worked on multiple residences with other design firms as well).

But back to the Lacca Povera technique, various European lacquer manufacturers' formulas differed in coloring and thickness of varnish, among other traits.  While other Italian states tended to work with limited color palettes and forms, Venetian pieces were produced in a wider range of colors and forms.  There was a 20th century revival of the technique that continues today, but the 18th century pieces are generally the most valued.

Lacca Povera

Detail of a Lacca Povera table, Venice, circa 1750,
shows the allegorical theme of the continents.
Photo:  Benedicte Petit.

The Italian furniture known as Lacca Povera, which translates as "poor man's lacquer," dates from the 18th century and may or may not have originated in Venice.  Also known as Lacca Contraffa, or "counterfeit lacquer," it is an imitation of the Oriental lacquer--of sorts.

A fall front secretary, Venice, circa 1770,
shows the later preferences for leisurely country pursuits.
Photo:  Bay Hippisley.

The technique involves printed paper images pasted on the painted furniture surface and then coated with many coats of varnish to create the illusion of high-gloss lacquer decoration.

One of a pair of corner cabinets, Italy, circa 1780,
illustrates an answer to the 18th century demand for lacquer furniture.
Photo:  Briga Fairholme.

Other Italian cities produced Lacca Povera furniture as well, as did Paris and London at its height of popularity.  To satisfy the demand for a less expensive version of the true lacquer decoration, printers produced sheets of engravings specifically for Lacca Povera decoration.  Chinoiserie figures, shepherds and sheperdesses, huntsmen, garlands, and bouquets of flowers are all common printed motifs.


A detail of a folding screen, Venice, circa 1750,
portrays the themes of mythology, courtship, and the Orient.
Photo:  Belmont Galleries, London.

One of the printing firms that produced sheets of motifs specifically intended to be cut out to create Lacca Povera furniture was Giovanni Antonio Remondini.  That firm produced the small engraved scenes and motifs that decorate the bureau cabinet below.

A bureau cabinet, Venice, circa 1750,
features mirrored doors.
Photo:  Mark E. Smith.

As interest in the classical revival style of Louis XVI resulted in the waning of the Roccoco period, the popularity of lacquer and Lacca Povera declined.  By the time of the 1797 unopposed invasion of Venice by Napoleon's army, the city was no longer the great sea power and center of European banking, but already becoming a tourist center.


A Northern Italy cabinet, circa 1760, displays
the lavish frivolity of late Baroque and Rocco tastes.
Photo:  Bay Hippisley.

The charm of Lacca Povera furnishings is appreciated today, however, and occasionally a piece may be found in the most stylish interiors.

All photos are from the February, 1989, issue of

Architectural Digest.