Late Gothic Savonarola Folding Chair

A rare and well-preserved late Gothic walnut Savonarola chair, with the characteristic X-frame formed of multiple slats creating the legs and seat, raised on bold lion pad sledge feet. The backrest, of shaped plank form, shows a line of nail holes indicating the former presence of an applied fabric panel, a later addition now removed. The wide armrests are decorated with carved floral roundels, lending a refined detail to the strong architectural form of the chair.
The Savonarola chair type descends from the ancient Roman sella curulis, the folding seat of magistrates and senators, long associated with civic power and authority. Its revival in late 15th-century Florence coincided with the political upheavals of the period, and the chair came to be popularly linked to the reformist Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452–1498), whose brief but dramatic rule left a powerful legacy.
Practical in its folding design yet also symbolic, such chairs were reserved for persons of high rank in civic, ecclesiastical, and domestic settings. The lion paw feet here underscore the connection with authority, strength, and classical heritage, while the decorative armrest details reflect late Gothic taste at the threshold of the Renaissance.

Provenance: Important private collection of Graham Dark, Truro, Cornwall. This chair was originally intended to be housed in Truro Museum.