If you want ornamentation, elegance, and opulence, look no further than Versailles Sofa, the new piece by Portuguese studio Boca do Lobo. This sybaritic splendor of a sofa debuts at Salone del Mobile 2012. A Limited Edition piece, Versailles Sofa adds to Boca do Lobo’s exclusive series of one-of-a-kind pieces, each painstakingly handcrafted in Portugal by artisans. The company’s Limited Edition furniture seeks to erase the distinction between design and art.

Versailles Sofa. Manufactured by Boca do Lobo.

Extravagant Creation Honors French Ostentation

As the name indicates, Versailles Sofa harkens back to the seventeenth century, “where grandeur and pageantry reigned in the French Court.” The dramatic piece recreates the “Versailles Spirit” with its unabashed stateliness and decorative flourishes. A frame bursting with bas-relief sculpture—scrolls, flowers, leaves, and busts—gives way to a luxurious suppleness within in the form of sapphire blue velvet. Versailles Sofa is not for the timid or meek: it is almost an incarnation of one of the seven deadly sins—vainglory.

Versailles Sofa is a contradiction: viewed from the front, only the lovely texture of the velvet and part of the sofa frame shows; from behind, the sculpture reigns supreme. Boca do Lobo seems to be presenting the best of two worlds: a nod to the beauty of the Versailles court and a subtle challenge of its excesses.

About the Manufacturer: Boca do Lobo is a Portuguese design studio founded in 2005 that manufactures limited edition furniture. Their mission is aesthetically allusive: “to understand the past and interpret it through technology and contemporary design.” Handcrafted in Portugal, Boca do Lobo pieces showcase artistry, talent, and “a world of emotions.”