A chair is a chair is a.....

When we were on our tour through Europe and we checked into our hotel room in Florence, there was a chair in our room that Becky fell in love with.  Its called a Savonarola Chair (after the Florentine friar who preached reform in the Catholic Church and encouraged people to bring their ungodly possessions of art, literature, etc and burn them in a big fire on the piazza [bonfires of the vanities]).  It made me happy that Becky liked it so much.

Savonarola Chair in our hotel room in Florence

So after we returned home and Becky was looking for some things on ksl.com classified ads, she was thrilled to find TWO Savonarola-style chairs for just $150.  The photo of the chairs on ksl.com looked something like this:

The chair in the ksl.com classified ad

The chairs for sale didn't exactly match "our" chair in Florence, but they were close enough.  We went ahead made arrangements to pick up the chairs, without actually seeing them in person.  Since the seller was in Payson, about an hour+ drive from our house, and we were concerned about buying the chairs before they were snagged by someone else, I made arrangements with my niece who lives a short distance away to pick them up and I would get them from her later.  After picking the chairs up, my niece texted me and in a very nice way, mocked our purchase by pointing out all of the funky animal carvings.  What?  No!  Savonarola chairs are dignified and beautiful and a fine example of Italian Renaissance furniture.  What was she talking about?

She texted me a few more pictures of the specific carvings on the chairs:

A cat on the main upper back of the chair?

OK.  No animals to be found on the chair leg

A monkey?  Really?  On the upper arm of the chair?

She claimed this was an Italian pick-pocketer.  I kind of see Mario or Luigi

And get this:  Ducks on the arms?  Or maybe a platypus?

Why?  Why would someone ruin a perfectly good chair with this kind of whimsical carving?  I've done some reading and it was a common practice in the early 1900s to recreate the Savonarola chair with various themes and animals are not unusual for the time period.  (Here are some examples.)  I've found some references and contact info for appraisers that can tell us what they are really worth (which I doubt will be much more than the $150 we paid....and probably less given the animals.)  So, instead of proudly being on display in our living room, they've been relegated to our bedroom where we won't have to explain why we have funky duck chairs.

They are VERY well made of solid mahogany (?) and the carvings are are very intricate.  Just why did they need to be of animals?

My sister and brother-in-law thought they looked very regal (if not a bit uncomfortable) and felt this was the more appropriate use of the chairs:

(I think if my sister sends me a picture of herself mocking my chairs, I can post it anywhere I like.)

But, I have to say:  Every time I look at our Savonarola Chairs, they remind me of Florence, and it brings a smile.  Too bad we don't have three of them.  Now our kids will argue over who doesn't get one as part of their inheritance.