Wooden Secretary Desk by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini
About the Item
- Creator:Bernini (Manufacturer),Gianfranco Frattini (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 39.38 in (100 cm)Width: 43.31 in (110 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. Restored, but some age-related marks remain.
- Seller Location:Madrid, ES
- Reference Number:
Gianfranco Frattini
Gianfranco Frattini is widely regarded as a mid-century master of Italian modern design. He was an award-winning architect and designer, and specialized in creating furniture and decor that is both decorative and practical — Frattini’s vintage desks, armchairs, nesting tables and other works are celebrated for their sophisticated merging of function and form.
Born in Padua in 1926, Frattini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He later apprenticed with his teacher and mentor, Gio Ponti. Through Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian architecture and design — Frattini met many notable modernist designers such as Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier, but an introduction to famed Italian entrepreneur Cesare Cassina would prove incredibly significant in helping launch his career.
During the mid-1950s, Frattini began to collaborate with Cassina’s eponymous company. He designed the brand’s acclaimed leather and walnut Model 849 lounge chair — a winner of the Compasso d’Oro award — the Marema nesting tables and the iconic Sesann collection. The latter, an enduring 1970s suite of impossibly welcoming leather-covered seating, is now produced by Tacchini. In addition to Cassina, Frattini created furniture and lighting for other manufacturers such as Bernini, Arteluce, Artemide, Knoll and more.
While many of his designs incorporate glass, tubular steel and other materials, Frattini loved working with wood. The sculptural Albero bookcase — an innovative floor-to-ceiling structure made in walnut that swings on a 360-degree vertical swivel axis — is a striking example of Frattini’s dedication to traditional woodworking techniques. In the early 1970s, he traveled to Japan with friend and collaborator Pierluigi Ghianda — a master Milanese cabinet maker — in order to study the work of artisans in Kyoto. The trip inspired his design of the Kyoto table, a work of solid beech with Canaletto walnut inserts that is part of the permanent collection of the Milan Triennale’s Design Museum. The Kyoto and Albero have been revived by Poltrona Frau.
Frattini’s designs are in the permanent collections of prestigious museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Find vintage Gianfranco Frattini furniture, lighting and decor on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Arganda del Rey, Spain
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Midcentury Modern Wooden Desk by Gianfranco Frattini for BerniniBy Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Madrid, ESHardwood writing desk designed by Gianfranco Frattini and produced by Bernini, Italy. The desk features a removable top part with extra drawers and storage compartments. This desk ca...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsHardwood
- Walnut Commode by Gianfranco Frattini for BerniniBy Bernini, Gianfranco FrattiniLocated in Madrid, ESSmall walnut wood chest of drawers with metal details from the 1960s. Designed by Gianfranco Frattini and manufactured by Bernini. Some stains on the metal and dents on the wooden to...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMetal
- Hardwood Side Table by Gianfranco Frattini for BerniniBy Bernini, Gianfranco FrattiniLocated in Madrid, ESSmall side table or a nightstand of hardwood. Designed by Gianfranco Frattini and produced by Bernini, Italy around 1960. Two drawers with built-in handles and central foot on two si...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsHardwood
- Extendable Walnut Dining Table by Silvio Coppola for BerniniBy Silvio Coppola, BerniniLocated in Madrid, ESSquare walnut table, model 612, designed by Silvio Coppola in 1964. Manufactured by Bernini in Italy. Extendable into a large dining table. Literature: G. Gramigna, Repertorio del Design Italiano...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Fabio Lenci for Bernini Wood and Steel Chest of DrawersBy Fabio Lenci, BerniniLocated in Madrid, ESChest of drawers/dressing table made of two adjustable compartments hinged together, which can be opened and closed as demonstrated on the photos. Made of solid wood and veneered ply...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsSteel
- Oak Roll Top Secretary Desk with DrawersLocated in Madrid, ESOak secretary / writing desk from circa 1900's. Featuring a roll-up flap with underlying writing board, shelf interior and two drawers. Below the writing desk there are two pull-out ...Category
Early 20th Century British Edwardian Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Gianfranco Frattini Hardwood Writing Desk for Bernini, 1961By Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Barcelona, ESWriting desk model 807 designed in 1961 by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini, Italy. Tambour top that hides small drawers and a pull out leather writing surface, ten drawers in the low...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAluminum
- Gianfranco Frattini 804 Desk for Bernini, Italy, 1961By Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Barcelona, ESWriting desk model 804 designed in 1961 by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini, Italy. Tambour top that hides small drawers and a pull out leather writing surface. Front side with ten dr...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsMetal
- Rosewood Rolltop Desk/Cabinet, Model 804, by Gianfranco Frattini for BerniniBy Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Dorchester, MAGianfranco Frattini designed this gorgeous rosewood rolltop desk, model 804, for Bernini in the early 1960s. What appears to be a compact chest of ten...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsChrome, Aluminum
- Gianfranco Frattini Desk Model 530 Bernini Italy 1957By Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantStunning medium sized writing desk model 530 designed by Gianfranco Frattini and manufactured by Bernini, Italy 1957. This desk is made of nicely grained rosewood and cherrywood vene...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsRosewood
- Gianfranco Frattini Writing Desk Model 530 Bernini, Italy, 1963By Gianfranco Frattini, BerniniLocated in Albano Laziale, Rome/LazioBehold, a masterpiece of design and function, the Classic Writing Desk Model 530, a creation of the renowned Gianfranco Frattini, crafted by the s...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWalnut
- Mid-Century Modern Gianfranco Frattini Secretary for Bernini, 1950sBy Gianfranco FrattiniLocated in Brussels, BEMid-Century Modern Gianfranco Frattini Secretary for Bernini, 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsWood