Italian designer Carlo Bugatti created some of the most exotic furniture of the Art Nouveau period. This flamboyant armchair is characteristic of his eccentric design aesthetic.

Bugatti combined a wide range of materials with wildly different decorative sources, including Moorish- and Japanese-inspired motifs. With its inlaid arms, repoussé copper work, and decorative tassels, this chair exemplifies Bugatti's style. The nonsense writing on the parchment seat was intended to look Islamic, a fanciful nod to exotic worlds.