Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
One of the most enigmatic and polarizing figures to emerge in Italian design, Aldo Tura is an outlier in the world of mid-century furniture. The designer’s glamorous bar carts, coffee tables, cabinets and more resist categorization and draw inspiration from Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Baroque, Surrealist and modernist styles.
Tura moved through distinct phases in his career in terms of aesthetics, influences and finishes, rendering his life’s work exciting and diverse. Despite these phases, he held a singular devotion to one material: lacquered goatskin. Tura established a furniture production house in 1939 in Lombardy, and some of his early work focused on tables, decorative lamps and more. He later expanded to bar furnishings like rolling carts, cabinets and complementary barware accessories like ice buckets and cocktail shakers. The eccentric, gleaming and luxe surface of lacquered goatskin was a constant, along with eggshell, parchment and leather.
By the 1950s, Tura had begun to use hand-painted figural panels on the surface of cabinets, serveware (such as carafes) and other pieces. He even replicated famous works by artists like Monet and Bruegel the Elder and art from the Middle Ages, sometimes playfully embedding the paintings on cabinets shaped like oversize books. Even though he had a favored color palette of rich chocolate browns and deep emeralds, his style remained consistently hard to define.
Tura was unlike most of his Italian contemporaries but held a similar reverence for the nation’s traditional craftsmanship and artisanal techniques. He never followed the growing trend of mass-produced, industrial furniture and stuck to creating small, meticulously handcrafted collections. This principled choice means that today, a Tura piece is a rare and highly coveted collectible. The Tura firm continues to operate in Brianza, promoting Italian craftsmanship and the eclectic materials embraced by their namesake designer.
Find authentic vintage Aldo Tura furniture today on 1stDibs.
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Brass
1960s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Brass
1970s Hollywood Regency Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Chrome
19th Century Antique Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Concrete
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Cane, Fruitwood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Stoneware
20th Century Italian Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Cast Stone, Metal
1950s Swiss Mid-Century Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Cement
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Brass, Steel
1980s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Goatskin, Beech
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Goatskin
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Goatskin
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Parchment Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
1970s Italian Vintage Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Mid-20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Aldo Tura Planters and Jardinieres
Goatskin
