Butaca Armchair

Butaca Armchair

1795-1800
Artist
Serafín Antonio Almeida, Venezuelan, 1752 - 1822
Born: Guatire
Culture
Venezuelan
Country
Venezuela
Object
armchair, furniture
Medium
Cedar veneered in gateado and carreto woods, fabric upholstery
Accession Number
2017.121
Credit Line
Denver Art Museum: Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Rafael Romero

Serafín Antonio Almeida, Butaca Armchair, 1795–1800. Cedar veneered in gateado and carreto woods with fabric upholstery; 49 × 30⅜ × 31½ in. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Rafael Romero, 2017.121.

Dimensions
height: 49 in, 124.4600 cm; width: 30 5/16 in, 76.9938 cm; depth: 31 1/2 in, 80.0100 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Latin American Art
Collection
Latin American Art
This object is currently on view

This easy chair, a low armchair with a tall, inclined back, was a furnishing for personal use and was destined for the most intimate spaces of colonial homes; those in which rigid Spanish etiquette, which required an erect posture when seated, could be cast aside. Its form is unique to the Americas and derives from a small, typical ceremonial seat called ture, used by the Indigenous cultures of the Caribbean. The name butaca comes from the word "putaca," seat, in the language of the Cumanagoto people of the northeastern coast of Venezuela. In this butaca, which dates from the late 1700s, the traditional typology of the easy chair is adorned with the fine neoclassical inlaid marquetry work typical of Serafín Antonio Almeida, the maker of the piece.

– Jorge Rivas Pérez, Frederick and Jan Mayer Curator of Latin American Art, 2017

Known Provenance
Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.