Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
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.
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Brass
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Mahogany
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Danish Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Faux Leather, Teak
Mid-18th Century Swedish Gustavian Antique Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Mahogany
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Oak, Wool
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Rattan
1990s Italian Post-Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Brass, Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery, Velvet, Mahogany
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Beech
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Rosewood
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Dining Room Chairs
Teak