Chest of Drawers with Carved Figures. Genoa, Italy, Late 16th Early-17th Century

An extraordinary carved walnut bambocci chest of drawers, dating from the late 16th to the early 17th century, bearing the coat of arms of the noble Doria family of Genoa. A work of exceptional sculptural quality, conceived not merely as furniture but as a powerful statement of status, lineage, and authority.

This is not a conventional 17th-century chest of drawers. It is a cult object for collectors, a piece that conveys fascination, history, and power. The so-called bambocci furniture originates from an artisanal tradition deeply rooted in the maritime history of Genoa, which between the 16th and 18th centuries stood among the great naval powers of the Mediterranean.

Within this context operated highly specialized carvers devoted to naval decoration, particularly to the execution of ship figureheads. These sculpted figures, charged with symbolic and protective meaning, required a strong plastic language, expressive force, and immediate visual impact. When the aristocratic patronage of Genoa began to demand increasingly prestigious and monumental furnishings, the same master carvers were employed to create furniture for palaces and noble residences.

Their sculptural vocabulary—dynamic, expressive, and fully three-dimensional—was thus transferred from naval architecture to domestic furniture. The small carved figures known as bambocci derive directly from this tradition: curved postures, load-bearing attitudes, and intense expressiveness follow the same logic as ship figureheads, designed to be legible, symbolic, and visually commanding.

The infant or putto figure, in particular, carried meanings of protection, prosperity, and continuity—values shared by both maritime culture and aristocratic domestic life. In this chest of drawers, the carved figures, inspired by Hercules, reinforce ideas of strength, endurance, and heroic virtue, further elevating the symbolic content of the piece.

Bambocci furniture should therefore not be understood as popular or naïve production. On the contrary, it represents learned, elite furniture, often commissioned by noble families closely tied to maritime trade and power. These works form a direct link between the sea, economic dominance, and decorative language, transforming Genoa’s great naval heritage into one of the most distinctive expressions of high-status interior furnishing.

Today, the bambocci chest of drawers stands as a symbol of the excellence and strength of late 16th-century Genoese furniture, celebrated for its bold sculptural decoration with fully carved and half-length figures in the round. It is widely regarded as one of the highest achievements of early Italian furniture and a true icon of high-epoch craftsmanship.

This unique and superb bambocci chest of drawers, commissioned for the noble Doria family of Genoa, still retains its original iron key and locks and is in exceptional condition, despite more than four hundred years of history.

The walnut sculptures adorning this magnificent Genoese chest of drawers display an extensive and complex repertoire of subjects. In particular, the decoration evokes two of the Labors of Hercules: on the sides, Hercules is shown killing the Nemean Lion and confronting the Hydra of Lerna.

Other figures are primarily depicted playing musical instruments, sometimes accompanied by animals. The presence of musicians relates to the mythological tradition according to which Hercules was educated not only in the art of war and combat, but also in music. However, the future hero showed little aptitude for this discipline and was frequently reprimanded by his teacher. Following a punishment inflicted upon him, Hercules killed his instructor in a fit of rage.

Amphitryon, exercising his paternal authority, sent Hercules away from Thebes as an act of atonement. Hercules remained on Mount Cithaeron among shepherds until the age of eighteen. The drawer handles depict cherubs playing musical instruments, some in the company of animals, while on the lowest drawer Hercules appears as a child killing the Nemean Lion.

This magnificent chest of drawers is made entirely of walnut with a dark, richly developed patina. The drawers are veneered in walnut burl, creating a refined tortoiseshell effect. The top features a beveled edge, beneath which are three paired drawers. The central drawer bears the heraldic coat of arms with the crown and eagle of the illustrious Doria family of Genoa.

The three large drawers below are framed by the same richly carved moldings with stylized foliage; particular attention should be paid to the finely chased connecting cords that visually divide the drawers. The front drawers are fitted with magnificently carved handles in the form of putti. The drawers are framed by angular pilasters with male figures carved in high relief, while the base is richly ornamented with carved pods.

The gilded and finely chased bronze keyhole escutcheons reproduce the Doria family coat of arms, once again confirming the importance and prestige of the original patrons. The charming feet with lion heads date from a later period.

The Doria Family Coat of Arms on the Bambocci Chest of Drawers

The Doria family coat of arms present on this chest of drawers has been modified by replacing the traditional two lions holding the shield with two cherubs. The rise of the Doria family coincided with the colonial and maritime expansion of Genoa, and the coat of arms adopted in the 14th century—shared among all branches of the family—was created to express the power achieved, in honor of Henry VII Doria, admiral of the Republic of Genoa.


Comparative Literature

• Alvar González-Palacios, Il Mobile in Liguria, Genoa, 1996, pp. 47 fig. 48; p. 50 fig. 52, for comparable examples.
• C. Steiner, Mobili e Ambienti Italiani dal Gotico al Floreale, Vol. I, Milan, 1963, fig. 186, illustrating a similar chest of drawers in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan. The same author, fig. 189, illustrates another closely related bambocci chest. A comparable model is also illustrated in Giuseppe Morazzoni, Il Mobile Genovese, Milan, plate 28.
• Museum of Decorative Arts – Castello Sforzesco, Milan. An important collection of bambocci furniture is preserved in the Furniture Collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts at the Castello Sforzesco.