Leaf-shaped seat with capuchin monkey

The polychrome seat is shaped like a large perforated leaf (a monstera deliciosa), beneath which a capuchin monkey hides, clinging to a prickly pear plant. Seats of this type first appeared at the 1881 Milan Exhibition, along with others depicting a monkey under a banana leaf, or a griffin. 

Before this date, Doccia produced garden seats decorated to imitate fabric coverings (inv. 7021), wicker (inv. 7025), or wood (inv. 7029), referred to in Doccia manufactory documents as “ornamental maiolica” or “for use.” However, as early as the 1870s, the manufactory showed an interest in creating sculptures modeled in the shape of exotic animals in maiolica, such as elephants, herons, tigers, and bears. 

Zoological garden sculpture can likely be linked to the introduction in the factory of naturalistic models during the artistic direction of the painter Giuseppe Benassai. He drew inspiration for some decorations from a graphic print repertoire on animal life (La vie des animaux by A. Brehm), which some modelers and decorators at Doccia may have used as a reference for creating new pieces.  It is certain that seats depicting monkeys were also produced by English factories as early as the 1860s, attesting to a widespread taste for garden furnishings with an exotic flair.