Restored in 1999 with Save Venice general funds.

This eighteenth-century throne was used when the doge visited the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo on important state ceremonial occasions. It is made from finely carved and gilded wood; the front two feet are decorated with sphinxes, and between them is a pile of trophies, over which the doge would have triumphantly been poised when seated. The upper portion of the throne is decorated with lion heads, allegorical figures, and other ornamental motifs. Upholstered in embroidered red silk, the throne is positioned under an elaborately beaded canopy that was restored with funding from the Committee of Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

The wood portion of the work was restored by conservators Maximilian Leuthenmayr and Benito Ghezzo, and the upholstery portion by conservator Annamaria Morassutti, with the guidance of project director Sandro Sponza of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Unidentified artists
Doge’s Throne
Eighteenth century, gilded wood and embroidered silk
220 x 109 x 105 cm