Grotto furniture gueridon attributed to Pauly & Cie Wood, carved and dark brown, painted gold and silver. A naturalistic coral branch entwined with a sea serpent above a slanted, sculpted seahorse. Above a flat cover plate in the shape of a scallop shell. Rest; h. 87 cm. The so-called grotto furniture has the de facto appearance of having been created in artificial rock caves or having been exposed to the marine environment there for a long time. The naturalistic carving is predominantly orientated towards the formal language of the Rococo period. Cf. fig. in: Bruce M. Newman, p. 61. An Italian carved and lacquered wood grotto furniture attributed to Pauly & Cie. Restored. Italy. Venice. Late 19th cent.