Although his life is shrouded in mystery, Michelangelo Pergolesi (d. 1801) is known as one of the chief assistants to the Adam brothers who was invited to work in London after having made the acquaintance of Robert Adam in Italy. After his arrival in London in 1770, Pergolesi published a number of design albums starting in 1771 that served both as manuals for cabinetmakers as well as inspirational sources for connoisseurs and patrons from London to St. Petersburg. His design books played a quintessential part in the dissemination of a distinctively English Neoclassical style throughout the European continent, particularly in Russia, where craftsmen such as Christian Meyer were greatly influenced by Pergolesi’s work. One of his most influential design album series, entitled Designs for Various Ornaments, was published in fourteen parts between 1777 and 1801. Including designs for interiors, decorations, and furniture, these volumes took inspiration from Rafael’s works and the new Etruscan style, which is apparent in the carved decoration of this chair. An identical chair is in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York (Inv. 1924-6-1), a settee of this design and supplemented by herms is in the collection of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota (Inv. SN 1533), while a pair of identical chairs was sold Sotheby’s, New York, 24 April 2013, lot 113.