Ornamental Desk and Chair by Carlo Bugatti, 1910 Set of 2

This rare writing desk and matching chair showcase Carlo Bugatti’s imaginative, eccentric brilliance - a strikingly unconventional choice for bold interior curators and collectors with a taste for the extraordinary.

Created circa 1910, the set features Bugatti’s iconic fusion of exotic materials and architectural fantasy: walnut, vellum, pewter intarsia, punched copper, and long silk tassels, all composed into forms that feel both ancient and avant-garde.

The desk showcases six small drawers bearing enigmatic, glyph-like script, while lacquered oak acorn handles add a charming, whimsical note to the desk’s rich material vocabulary. Punched copper sheets wrap the desk in a sculptural skin. A vellum-clad pigeonhole in between the drawers softens the geometry.
A large triangular drawer at the front carrying a lush silk tassel adds movement and refinement. The pieces feels like an artifact rescued from an invented civilization: lettering poured in pewter, stepped wooden decorative blocks, and hammered copper motifs revealing themselves as the light moves across the surface. The vellum on the top and inside the pigeon hole is the original and is left untouched.

The chair is equally captivating: with the well known circular ''gong'' suspended by rope between the wooden frame of the backrest, the geometric inlays, punched copper wrapped legs, and the three dramatic silk tassels. Every angle offers a new discovery.
Both pieces have been expertly restored by the Dutch Bugatti restoring specialist Jeroen van Koolwijk (Utrecht) preserving all authentic elements and reconstructing some of the decorations and the silk tassels. They are structurally sound - yet their essence is unmistakably artistic rather than utilitarian. Works created as art first, furniture second. Sculptural presences. Conversation-catchers. The kind of objects that anchor a room and define a collection.

Today’s top designers increasingly choose Bugatti pieces as bold accents in modern interiors. They alter the very mood of a room, adding mystery and elegance - lifting the entire interior - becoming the undeniable eye-catcher that reflects the bold taste of its owner.

Almost identical example of desk found in Bugatti, Dejean, pg. 37 and Carlo Bugatti au musée d'Orsay, Massé, pg. 95
A distinctive set that elevates an interior and embodies the creativity, daring, and fantasy that define Carlo Bugatti’s legacy.