Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Sebastopole Dining Table, 1982
About the Item
- Creator:Memphis Milano (Manufacturer),Michele de Lucchi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Width: 78.75 in (200 cm)Depth: 35.44 in (90 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1982
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5054123495122
Memphis Milano
To many people, postmodern design is synonymous with the Memphis Group. This Italian collaborative created the most radical and attention-getting designs of the period, upending most of the accepted standards of how furniture should look. Today, the Memphis Milano brand, which is managed by Alberto Bianchi Albrici, still produces designs created by the group between 1981 and 1988.
The Memphis story begins in 1980, when Ettore Sottsass, then a beacon of Italian postmodernism, tapped a coterie of younger designers to develop a collection for the Milan Furniture Fair the next year, determined that all the new furniture they were then seeing was boring. Their mission: Boldly reject the stark minimalism of the 1970s and shatter the rules of form and function. (Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, designed in 1970, embodied many of what would become the collective’s postmodern ideals.)
The group decided to design, produce and market their own collection, one that wouldn’t be restricted by concerns like functionality and so-called good taste. Its debut, at Milan’s 1981 Salone del Mobile, drew thousands of viewers and caused a major stir in design circles.
So as a record of Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile” played on repeat, they took their name from the song, devised their marketing strategy and plotted the postmodern look that would come to define the decade of excess — primary colors, blown-up proportions, playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art. A high-low mix of materials also helped define Memphis, as evidenced by Javier Mariscal’s pastel serving trays, which feature laminate veneer — a material previously used only in kitchens — as well as Shiro Kuramata’s Nara and Kyoto tables made from colored glass-infused terrazzo.
An image of Sottsass posing with his collaborators in a conversation pit shaped like a boxing ring appeared in magazines all over the world, and Karl Lagerfield furnished his Monte Carlo penthouse entirely in Memphis furniture. Meanwhile, members like Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Kuramata, Paola Navone, Peter Shire, George Sowden, Sottsass and his wife, journalist Barbara Radice, went on to enjoy fruitful careers.
Some people think of the Milan-based collective as the design equivalent to Patrick Nagel’s kitschy screenprints, but for others Memphis represents what made the early 1980s so great: freedom of expression, dizzying patterns and off-the-wall colors.
Eventually, the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990s minimalism, and Memphis fell out of fashion. Sottsass left the group in 1985, and by 1987, it had disbanded. Yet decades later, Memphis is back and can be traced to today’s most exciting designers.
“As someone who was born in the 1980s, Memphis at times feels like the grown-up, artsy version of the toys I used to play with,” says Shaun Kasperbauer, cofounder of the Brooklyn studio Souda. “It feels a little nostalgic, but at the same time it seems like an aesthetic that’s perfectly suited to an internet age — loud, colorful and utilizing forms that are graphic and often a little unexpected.”
Find a collection of Memphis Milano seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Fizzonasco, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Romeo Rega Dining Table in Steel and Brass with Glass Top, 1970sBy Romeo RegaLocated in Milan, ITAn amazing dining table designed by Romeo Rega made out of steel, brass and glass top. This table's structure plays with geometric lines, creatin...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass, Steel
- Tomaso Buzzi Marble dining table - 1954 Italian Design from a private commissionBy Tomaso BuzziLocated in Milan, ITTomaso Buzzi was the real designer for the Italian and Milanese upper middle class in the post-World War II period. His creations, as in this case, were often commissioned creations, designed for a specific family and on the occasion of an overall furnishing project, to be followed from A to Z. This fine dining table is designed with its eight chairs for an apartment on Via Conservatorio, deep in the heart of bourgeois Milan, near Villa Necchi...Category
Vintage 1950s Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble, Metal
- Iconic table by Ferruccio Laviani for Dolce&Gabbana Gold Restaurant in MilanBy Ferruccio LavianiLocated in Milan, ITThis Iconic Gold Table by Ferruccio Laviani was originally drawn in 2006 for the interiors of Dolce & Gabbana's legendary restaurant Gold. Its polychrome nuances in gold and its geom...Category
Early 2000s Italian Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Center low table with sculptural stone feet and glass top - Casigliani Italy 80sLocated in Milan, ITThis low table is immediately striking in its large size and the beauty of its sculptural supports. The shape is reminiscent of Massimo Vignelli's Metafora coffee tables, albeit with...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Center Tables
MaterialsCast Stone, Granite, Marble
- Stunning Wood Base Dinner Table with Crystal top, Italian Design, 70sLocated in Milan, ITThis unique wood table with crystal top has a strong and decisive identity. Its minimal yet sculptural shapes makes it the ideal core piece of a conv...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Dining Room Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Large Table with Metal Frame and Wooden Top Manifattura Italiana, circa 1960By Franco AlbiniLocated in Milan, ITThis large wooden table consists of a strong and compact top. The metal legs, lacquered in black, are built according to the lines of the wooden to...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Michele de Lucchi Burgundy Writing Dining Table For Memphis Milano Italy, 1985By Memphis Group, Michele de LucchiLocated in Vienna, ATIconic dining table, laminated wood and steel, Michele de Lucchi 'Burgundy' table Memphis Italy, 1985. Dimensions are: 61" x 41.3" x 28.74" (height). Rare dining- or office table d...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- La Festa Dining Table by Michele De Lucchi, 1980sBy Michele de LucchiLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Michele De Lucchi Model - La Festa Dining Table Design Period - Eighties Measurements - Width 130 cm x Depth 130 cm x Height 73 cm Mat...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Fortune Side Table, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Group, Michele de Lucchi, Memphis MilanoLocated in La Morra, CuneoFortune Side table in plastic laminate, lacquered wood and glass. Designed in 1982, by Michele De Lucchi. Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and graduated in architectur...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood, Plastic
- Kristall End Table, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Milano, Michele de Lucchi, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoKristall end table in plastic laminate, lacquered wood and metal. Designed in 1981, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano. Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and gradu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern End Tables
MaterialsPlastic, Wood
- Polar Side Table, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Milano, Michele de Lucchi, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Polar side table was originally designed by Michele De Lucchi in 1984 for Memphis Milano. It is made out of plastic laminate and lacquered wood. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Tables
MaterialsPlastic
- Flamingo Bedside Table, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Group, Michele de Lucchi, Memphis MilanoLocated in La Morra, CuneoFlamingo bedside table in laminated wood and plastic, designed in 1984 by Michele De Lucchi. Michele De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and graduated in architecture in Florence. During the period of radical and experimental architecture he was a prominent figure in movements like Cavart, Alchymia and Memphis. His architectural designs have been mainly for office buildings in Japan, in Germany, in Switzerland and in Italy. He has taken care of numerous art and design exhibitions and has planned buildings for museums as Triennale di Milano, Palazzo delle Esposizioni di Roma and Neues Museum...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood, Plastic