Osvaldo Borsani P40 Chair
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Steel, Brass
Vintage 1950s Chaise Longues
Mohair
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Plywood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Chaise Longues
Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Brass
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Fabric, Walnut
Vintage 1920s Italian Art Deco Dining Room Sets
Velvet, Mirror, Walnut, Burl
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
Wood, Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Rosewood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
Wood, Maple, Rosewood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Steel
Vintage 1940s Italian Post-Modern Dry Bars
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Cabinets
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1930s Italian Baroque Revival Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Walnut
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Vanities
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Chenille, Upholstery, Walnut
Vintage 1920s Italian Art Deco Dining Room Tables
Burl, Walnut
Vintage 1920s Italian Art Deco Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Mirror, Walnut, Burl
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Marble, Steel, Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Metal, Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Posters
Paper
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Benches
Metal, Iron
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Aluminum
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Osvaldo Borsani P40 Chair For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Osvaldo Borsani P40 Chair?
Osvaldo Borsani for sale on 1stDibs
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair (1953). Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo di Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests. But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.