An Italian Art Deco marquetery, vellum and bronze sideboard designed by Paolo Buffa and made by Giuseppe Anzani, £17,000 at Dreweatts.
Designed by Milanese architect Paolo Buffa (1903-70), it is signed and dated Anzani 1941 for the ébéniste Giuseppe Anzani who worked from the small village of Mariano outside the city.
His work is not well known. Although his contributions at the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939 brought his work to international notice – and invited comparisons with the furniture of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann – the Second World War resulted in the loss of a large number of his recorded works and signed examples are rare at auction.
A comparable sideboard with similar subject inlay to this one was sold at Wannenes of Genoa in July 2020 for €8500.
This Guinevere example at the held at Dreweatts (25% buyer’s premium) auction in Newbury on May 23, estimated at £7000-10,000, took £17,000 from an online bidder.
