Zanotta Desks
Entrepreneur Aurelio Zanotta founded Zanotta in 1954 in Nova Milanese, Italy. Originally called Zanotta Poltrona, it specialized in traditional furniture. By the early 1960s, however, Zanotta had established a reputation for edgy mid-century modern design. Today’s vintage furniture collectors know the brand well for its innovative and wholly sculptural chairs, coffee tables and more.
One of Zanotta’s earliest successes was the Mezzadro stool — better known as the Tractor stool — designed by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and his brother Achille in the late 1950s. In 1965, Zanotta was among the first furniture companies to work with expanded polyurethane foam and frameless construction, such as for the Throw-Away sofas and armchairs designed by Willie Landels. Another popular design was the Blow chair — designed by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi and Carla Scolari — viewed by many as a physical expression of late '60s carefree culture.
In 1969, amid the provocative movement we now call Italian Radical Design, Zanotta’s Sacco chair garnered major attention. The boundary-pushing beanbag chair was the brainchild of designers Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro who presented it to Aurelio Zanotta as a transparent vinyl sack loosely filled with small polystyrene balls. He suggested its signature brightly colored leather.
The Sacco chair won the 1970 ADI Design Museum’s Compasso d’Oro award. In 1972, the Museum of Modern Art in New York included it in the landmark exhibition “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” curated by designer Emilio Ambasz. In 2020, it received a Compasso d’Oro ADI Lifetime Achievement Award for 50 years of enduring popularity. It is now in museum collections around the world including the Triennale Design Museum of Milan, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.
After Aurelio Zanotta died in 1991, the company remained in his family and has been run by his three children since 2002. Zanotta continues to set the bar high for furniture design with trend-setting pieces.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Zanotta seating, tables and other furniture.
21st Century and Contemporary Zanotta Desks
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Zanotta Desks
Steel
2010s American Organic Modern Zanotta Desks
Bronze
20th Century Italian Zanotta Desks
Leather, Cherry
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Zanotta Desks
Brass
Early 20th Century North American Zanotta Desks
Wood
1950s Polish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Zanotta Desks
Walnut
20th Century English Georgian Zanotta Desks
Leather, Hardwood
1950s American Vintage Zanotta Desks
Brass
2010s French Modern Zanotta Desks
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Neoclassical Zanotta Desks
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Modern Zanotta Desks
Metal
1920s French Art Deco Vintage Zanotta Desks
Brass, Bronze
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Zanotta Desks
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Zanotta Desks
Glass, Walnut
20th Century Italian Zanotta Desks
Glass
