Walnut Desk and Chairs by Osvaldo Borsani
View Similar Items
Walnut Desk and Chairs by Osvaldo Borsani
About the Item
- Creator:Osvaldo Borsani (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.3 in (79.5 cm)Width: 70.87 in (180 cm)Depth: 33.47 in (85 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U1010258396476D
Osvaldo Borsani
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.
- Mid Century Modern Model T333 desk by Osvaldo Borsani for TecnoBy TecnoLocated in London, GBModel T333 desk produced in 1975 from a design by Osvaldo Borsani and Eugenio Geri and manufctured by Tecno. The top is black lacquered walnut with an inset area of black leather. There are two minimal slim drawers, perfect for storage of pens etc and polished cast aluminium legs. with black trim. Manufacturer's label to side. This large and impressive desk with its minimal, sophisticated design would work well in both a modern or contemporary home. Literature: Giam Piero Bosoni, T Tecno L'eleganza discreta della tecnico, was established in 1953 the twin brothers Osvaldo and Fulgenzio Borsani with the goal of developing their father’s furniture company, Arredamenti Borsani, using the industrial process for the manufacturing of modern furniture. The history of the company goes back to the early 1920s, when woodworker and upholsterer Gaetano Borsani founded Atelier Borsani Varedo (later called Arredamenti Borsani Varedo) in Varedo, Italy. In spite of Arredamenti Borsani’s traditional approach, Osvaldo, designed the modernist Casa Minima furniture collection, while still attending architecture school at Accademia di Brera, and he won the silver medal at the V Triennale di Milano in 1933. Osvaldo’s ongoing involvement at the atelier continued to grow as he designed and built modernist furniture for the wealthy Milanese society. In 1954, a year after Tecno’s founding, the company unveiled its first factory-produced collection of sofas, chairs and tables and received accolades at the X Triennale di Milano. That same year, Osvaldo created the adjustable D70 sofa bed, which became an instant commercial success, and in 1956 he launched the P40 lounge chair, an adjustable reclining chair...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
$5,196 Sale Price40% Off - Lounge Chair Model 'P40' by Osvaldo BorsaniBy Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in London, GBClassic lounge chair Model 'P40' by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno. Upholstered in original black leather, nicely aged but in good vintage condition. The base is black lacquered metal wi...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Mid-Century Modern Walnut Desk by Gio PontiLocated in London, GBThis walnut desk designed by Gio Ponti is of a very useful size and elegant design with the typical Gio Ponti leg shape, seen in many of his pieces. The bottom of the leg is flicked ...Category
Vintage 1950s Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWood
$10,698 Sale Price30% Off - Elegant Mid Century Shelving unit Model E60 by Osvaldo Borsani for TecnoBy Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in London, GBElegant shelving unit Model E60 designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno. The shelves can be moved up and down as required. The bottom shelf is slightly deeper than the others which vis...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps Attributed to Osvaldo BorsaniBy Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in London, GBPair of high quality table lamps attributed to the well known Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani. These lamps are unusual in that they are styled in the form of an oil lamp or Aladdin'...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$3,973 Sale Price54% Off - Mid-Century Modern French Black Lacquered Metal Table or DeskLocated in London, GBUnusual French industrial style black lacquered metal dining table or desk.Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
$6,011 Sale Price20% Off
- Osvaldo Borsani DeskBy Atelier Borsani Varedo, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in New York, NY7-drawer desk by Osvaldo Borsani for ABV. Rosewood, maple, brass. Curved desk finished on both sides. A variant of an earlier model that originally covered in parchment and designed ...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
$26,000 - Desk, Elm Wood, Osvaldo Borsani, 1953By Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Berlin, DEMinimal and elegant desk with drawer. Solid wood construction, take top made of solid elm wood, legs with wooden screw thread. Exhibited at Trienale Milano 1954. Osvaldo Borsan...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWood, Elm
- Large Desk T333 by Eugenio Gerli and Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno ItalyBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Albano Laziale, Rome/LazioBehold the majesty of this expansive executive desk, crafted by none other than Italian visionaries Osvaldo Borsani and Eugenio Gerli for the esteemed manufacturer Tecno. Its pristin...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsAluminum
- Lucite and Walnut floating DeskLocated in Ballard, CAA highly engineered modernist desk made from a walnut (or oak, mahogany, or rosewood veneer) case “floating” on a Lucite base, which is affixed by custom-designed hardware. Custom si...Category
2010s American Modern Desks
MaterialsMetal
$9,555 / item - T95 Desk Design Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, Italy 1950By Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in taranto, ITWonderful t95 desk by osvaldo borsani for Tecno, Italy, about 1950. Equipped with two chests of drawers, one suspended and rotatable, with a large window...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsIron
- Mid-Century Modern Teak and Bamboo Desk Wall Unit Attributed to Osvaldo BorsaniBy Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Brussels, BEMid-Century Modern Teak and Bamboo Desk Wall Unit Attributed to Osvaldo BorsaniCategory
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBamboo, Teak
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Mid-Century Master Osvaldo Borsani Gets His Due at Donzella
The New York City gallery has devoted its latest show to the work of the modernist Italian designer.
Peek inside Osvaldo Borsani’s Mod Italian Villa
The iconic mid-century estate outside of Milan opens its doors to the public for a very special homage.