Architect and designer Cesare Lacca is renowned for the modernist furniture he created during the 1950s. Made with materials like teak, glass and brass, his work continues to command great interest from mid-century modern collectors. His pieces have recently found their way onto some of the 21st century’s most trendy television and movie sets.
Lacca was born in Naples, Italy, in 1929. Like many Italian designers in the 20th century, he moved to Milan after World War II to launch his career. At the age of 20, he was selected by a group of American curators for inclusion in the 1951 landmark exhibition “Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today” at the Art Institute of Chicago. It showcased Italian designers who had embraced modernist principles and rejuvenated traditional Italian crafts, like Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini and Gio Ponti.
Lacca designed a dizzying array of tea carts and serving trolleys across his career, including magazine racks and coffee tables. Lacca’s most well-known piece is a tea cart — most commonly used as a bar cart — that Cassina manufactured. It features beautifully sculpted beech, cedar, teak and walnut with brass details, a glass tabletop and a removable glass tray.
This Lacca cart was featured as Don Draper’s office bar in his Manhattan advertising agency on several episodes of the wildly popular television show Mad Men, reinvigorating the interest of collectors. Several other Lacca pieces have been part of the set decorations in the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and the movie Being the Ricardos.
On 1stDibs, find Cesare Lacca tables, racks and stands, seating and more.
Pair of velvet Easy Chairs by Cesare Lacca, circa 1950
By Cesare Lacca
Located in Berlin, DE
A pair of very rare easy chairs. Raspberry velvet cover, fringes, in original condition. Front legs are made of brass, back legs are made of walnut wood.
Brass
Brazilian Pair of Easy Chairs
Located in Brussel, BE
Brazilian pair of easy chairs with new fabric.
Fabric, Wood
Easy Chair by Isa Bergamo, Italy, 1950s
By ISA Bergamo
Located in Milan, IT
Easy chair by Isa Bergamo. Sinuous upholstered chair with original fabric and brass feet.
Brass
$7,000 / set
H 27.56 in W 23.23 in D 28.35 in
Sculptural pair of Italian easy chairs in walnut from the 1950s.
Located in Antwerp, BE
A lovely pair of Italian easy chairs from the 1950s, showcasing the elegance and fluidity of mid-century design. Executed in warm-toned walnut, the frames reveal beautifully sculpted...
Walnut
$560Sale Price|20% Off
H 32.68 in W 32.29 in D 16.54 in
Small 1950s Mid-Century Italian Stool in Brown Velvet and Cesare Lacca Design Ma
By Cesare Lacca
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Great style and shape for this small stool of great character and shape, created in velvet with buttons.
Velvet, Mahogany
Pair of Danish EAarly 1950s High and Low Back Easy Chairs
By Fritz Hansen
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A design that will just never go out of style. Classic pair of Danish early 1950's his and hers lounge chairs. Original grey wool fabric with diamond pattern. fabric. Strong presence...
Wool, Beech
Italian Pair of Easy Chairs in Red Velvet and Brass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Pair of lounge chairs, velvet, brass, Italy, 1950s These chairs are iconic examples of Italian design from the fifties. Organic and sculptural, these easy chairs are anything but mi...
Brass
$3,621Sale Price|20% Off
H 34.26 in W 45.28 in D 23.63 in
Italian Turquoise Velvet Sofa by Cesare Lacca, 1950s
By Cesare Lacca
Located in Nicolosi, IT
Elegant two-seater sofa designed by Cesare Lacca in Italy during the 1950s. This sculptural piece embodies the refined balance between organic form and architectural precision typica...
Velvet, Wood
$9,801 / set
H 30.32 in W 28.35 in D 31.5 in
Ib Kofod-Larsen pair of Canditate easy chairs, Denmark, 1950s
By Ib Kofod-Larsen
Located in Chiavari, Liguria
A pair of Candidate lounge chairs, designed by Ib Kofod-Larsen, Denmark, 1950s. This elegant pair of Danish easy chairs beautifully captures the refined, sculptural style that makes ...
Fabric, Teak
Pair of Danish Teak Easy Chairs
Located in Norwalk, CT
Teak frames, gray cushions. Danish Hans Wegner Style, mid-century.
Teak
$21,002
H 31.11 in W 62.21 in D 31.5 in
Exceptional Curved Cesare Lacca Sofa in Fadini Borghi Velvet, Italy, 1950s
By Cesare Lacca, La Maison Pierre Frey
Located in The Hague, NL
This exceptional two-seater sofa was designed by Cesare Lacca and produced in Italy in the early 1950s. The elegant, rounded lines of the backrest and curved seat create a sophistica...
Fabric, Upholstery, Velvet, Wood, Walnut
Kazuhide Takahama, Pair of 'Saghi' easy chairs
By Kazuhide Takahama
Located in London, GB
1972 For Simon Gavina Chromed steel, coarse woven fabric H68 x W72 x D65 cm Seat Height 42cm
Steel
$2,679Sale Price|20% Off
H 31.5 in W 27.56 in D 28.35 in
Cesare Lacca Mid Century Modern Italian Velvet Armchair for ISA Bergamo
By Cesare Lacca, ISA Bergamo
Located in Conversano, IT
Extraordinary armchair designed by Cesare Lacca for the renowned manufacturer ISA (Industria Salotti e Arredamenti) Bergamo, dating back to the 1950s. This piece is an emblematic exa...
Brass