Among the many priceless art collections of the Correale Museum, worthy of admiration are the Southern Italian furniture pieces.
Elements of culture and taste from numerous origins, assimilated and often reproduced by local craftsmen, are found in certain Neapolitan and Sicilian furnishings, authentic testimony to the complex affairs over the centuries that have characterized the south, historically and culturally, in a particularly special way in comparison with other Italian regions.
The long Muslim domain (X and XI centuries) left visible traces in Sicilian furnishings, especially in decoration: from intricate weave woodcuts to valuable jewel cases with inlaid bone and mother of pearl decoration, a taste for the ornate with minute geometric designs remained part of local craftsmanship for centuries, later to be intermingled with elements of a Spanish taste.
Until the 1600s, the most common furniture pieces were, also in the south, coffers and cassones, used at one time as wardrobes and as seating. It has to be mentioned, however, that in southern furnishings the Renaissance taste (and later baroque) often appears to be reproduced with modifications of a Spanish touch. One example in this respect is found in a furniture item of typical Renaissance taste, such as the drawer cabinet, which in the south has a minute inlaid decoration in bone, mother of pearl, tortoiseshell, identified more with Hispanic-Moorish taste than that of central Italy.
The Neapolitan furniture of the 1600s is monumental, sumptuously decorated with inlay, intaglio, sculpture and is often gilded.
Richly inlaid marbles cover the top surfaces of tables and chests of drawers. The gilt work is much favoured also in the following century when, with the advent of Charles III of Bourbon, Naples began a period of undeniable economic improvement. Also in Palermo, in the XVIII century, furniture craftsmanship begins to take account of French and English fashion, as well as techniques in use in the various regions of Italy. In 18th century Sicilian fur
niture, alongside gilt work, there is often silvering, especially in lacquered pieces, which constitute the most characteristic Sicilian production of the century. The French influence in furnishing makes itself more apparent throughout the XVIII century. The vivacious rocaille offers new opportunities to the ingenious imagination of southern craftsmen: and thus the series of chests of drawers and bureaux veneered in different woods and decorated with inlaid motifs; the traditional taste for inlay finds expression in the decoration of seating, frames and especially in wall tables.
Towards the middle of the century, with the archaeological discoveries of Herculaneum and Pompeii, the neoclassical taste becomes increasingly apparent in furnishings, and Naples – by this time long standing capital – is among the first centres to adopt the new style. In this way we arrive at the so-called “ferdinandei” furnishings, named after Ferdinand IV of Bourbon: wall tables, mirrors, straight-back chairs, lacquered in an ivory colour with inlaid and gilt decoration, taken from the neoclassical repertoire.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the brief Napoleonic domination does not fail to leave its imprint, in furnishing terms, with furniture of a clear military taste as favoured by Murat. The Bourbon restoration, and the advent of the brief reign of the “Two Sicilies”, mark the decline of furniture with characteristics of well-defined style, and the start of what will be – and not only in southern Italy – the “eclectic” era of 19th century furniture.

Filippo Merola - Director of the Correale Museum