20th Century Osvaldo Borsani Low Table in Metal and Marble for Tecno
About the Item
- Creator:Tecno (Manufacturer),Osvaldo Borsani (Author)
- Dimensions:Height: 19.69 in (50 cm)Width: 27.56 in (70 cm)Depth: 27.56 in (70 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Turin, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5450235351092
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. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De 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.
Tecno
From his early start at his father’s boutique furniture and cabinetry atelier — Arredamenti Borsani (ABV) — Italian designer Osvaldo Borsani began to steadily dream to life the movement-inducing pieces that would eventually lead to him founding his innovative furniture company, Tecno, with his twin brother, Fulgenzio.
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. He first worked for the family furniture-making firm, ABV, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design. Borsani took over Arredamenti Borsani in 1937.
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, 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.
While he is today recognized as a master of mid-century modernist Italian furniture, Borsani is most famous these days for cofounding Tecno. (He and Fulgenzio also created Villa Borsani, a visionary mid-century estate cherished for its modern lines and exquisite custom furnishings.)
When Borsani opened Tecno, an office-focused maker of industrial design, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair.
When they were originally released, Tecno pieces like the P40 and the award-winning D70 sofa bed were acclaimed as cutting-edge, and they are still considered groundbreaking in their adaptability and functionality. The firm quickly garnered widespread acclaim for its tech-forward designs and quality craftsmanship.
Borsani would be Tecno’s lead designer for 30 years, while partnering on projects with the likes of architect Eugenio Gerli and fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Borsani designed pieces for Tecno until shortly before his death in 1985, when his daughter Valeria and her husband, Marco Fantoni, took over the creative work.
Today, the family’s legacy is preserved by Borsani’s architect grandson Tommaso Fantoni, who, along with Norman Foster, curated a blockbuster retrospective of Osvaldo Borsani’s work at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum in 2018.
Find vintage Tecno chairs, tables, desks and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Torino, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- 20th Century Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno LT8 Sky-Ground Lamp 1960 Brass and NeonBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Turin, TurinOsvaldo Borsani in 1953, together with his brother Fulgenzio, realized his most complex project: a company idea named after the "techne" of the Greeks, which means both art and technique. Tecno thinking was born: the perfect synthesis between the artisan experience of the atelier and its declination on a larger scale. Tecno is first and foremost an entrepreneur's project: Italy has begun its process of tertiarization; the office environment does not yet have its unquestionable formal definition, and that is where Osvaldo Borsani wants to get to: to reinvent for workspaces that mix of formal elegance, rigor and rational functionality that the modern movement had developed for domestic living. Here the very wonderful sky-ground lamp...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Metal
- 20th Century Osvaldo Borsani Tripod Side Table Brass, Wood and Glass for Abv 50sBy Osvaldo Borsani, Atelier Borsani VaredoLocated in Turin, TurinOsvaldo Borsani in 1953, together with his brother Fulgenzio, realized his most complex project: a company idea named after the "techne" of the Greeks, which means both art and techn...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Osvaldo Borsani Wood and Glass Coffee Table by Arredamenti VaredoBy Osvaldo Borsani, Atelier Borsani VaredoLocated in Turin, TurinCoffee table designed by Osvaldo Borsani in '40s. The table has a wooden structure and 2 tops, one in wood and one in glass. The shape of the table is mostly recatngular, for this re...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- 20th Century Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno T90 Desk Wood with Chest of Drawers 60sBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Turin, TurinOsvaldo Borsani in 1953, together with his brother Fulgenzio, realized his most complex project: a company idea named after the "techne" of the Greeks, which means both art and techn...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Osvaldo Borsani Tecno Sky-Ground Coat Rack Mod. AT16, 60sBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Turin, TurinOsvaldo Borsani in 1953, together with his brother Fulgenzio, realized his most complex project: a company idea named after the "techne" of the Greeks, which means both art and techn...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsSteel, Aluminum
- 20th Century Max Ingrand Fontana Arte Low Table mod. 1817/1 Brass and Glass, 50sBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in Turin, TurinSome notes about the author Max Ingrand: a famous French master glass worker and decorator, he was artistic director of FontanaArte for one decade, starting from 1954. During that ti...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsCrystal, Brass
- 20th Century Osvaldo Borsani Low Table in Brass and Rare Sivec Marble for TecnoBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Rovereta, SM20th century Osvaldo Borsani low table in brass and rare sivec marble for Tecno.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Osvaldo Borsani Coffee Side Table "T 61c" for TecnoBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Rovereta, SMAvailable two Osvaldo Borsani A "T 61c" coffee side table manufactured by Tecno, 1957. Varnished steel and Carrara marble top. Original label Letteratura: Giampiero Bosoni...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Steel
- Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, Steel and Thick Crystal Coffee Table Mod. T113, 1975By Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Bresso, LombardyOsvaldo Borsani designed this piece in 1975 for Tecno. It features a curved steel frame and a thick crystal top. It might show slight traces of use since it's vintage, but it can be ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCrystal, Steel
- Occasional Table Designed by Osvaldo Borsani for TecnoBy Osvaldo Borsani, TecnoLocated in Rovereta, SMOccasional table designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, brass and Carrara marble top.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Brass
- Model T61 Table by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1960sBy Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in London, GBModel T61 table by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1960s A 1960s Model T61 coffee or side table designed by Osvaldo Borsani with a single drawer. Made in teak with a black painted metal...Category
20th Century Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Coffee Table in Wood by Osvaldo Borsani for TecnoBy Tecno, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Milano, ITBeautiful coffee table designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno in the 60s. The coffee table has a thick top in fine wood with a rectangular shape, which rests on the particular metal l...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal