Collectors of vintage mid-century modern furniture will find that the work of Italian designer Vittorio Dassi and Dassi Mobili Moderni is elegant and sculptural, brimming with all of the clean, angular lines and pleasing symmetry associated with the best of the era’s offerings.
While Dassi's name is less known to enthusiasts of the period’s furniture than the likes of Ico and Luisa Parisi, Franco Albini and other leading lights of mid-20th century Italian design, his case pieces, tables and seating will prove no less worthy of hunting down at today's flea markets and online marketplaces.
Wood was Dassi's preferred material — he favored rosewood, mahogany, walnut and other species for his covetable desks and wall units, which frequently featured decorative flourishes such as glass inlays, while a sideboard or buffet’s fronts might boast hand-carved geometric cutouts in lieu of brass door handles.
While little is known about Dassi's early life, it is believed that his career in furniture design began in 1940 at his family's company Dassi Mobili Moderni, in Lissone, Italy. Shortly thereafter, he took over managing the company from his father.
While Dassi produced dry bars and other case pieces during the 1950s that featured the motifs and ornament that are today attributed to the Art Deco movement, he created sumptuous mahogany nightstands topped with black glass and minimalist teak coffee tables that better represented the forward-looking spirit of mid-century modernism. His wall units of the era for Mobili Cantù are works of art — crafted in walnut and featuring birch veneers and high-gloss lacquer finishes as well as a single door front decorated with an abstract painting or otherwise provocative illustration, these structures would undoubtedly prove quite impressive to the likes of Poul Cadovius and George Nelson.
Dassi often collaborated with Italian architect, editor and furniture designer Gio Ponti. Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. A collaboration between Dassi and Ponti of note is the pair’s work on the Hotel Royal in Naples — Ponti was commissioned to design the hotel and he partnered with Dassi to design the hotel's furnishings.
Today, Dassi Mobili Moderni S.R.L. is still in operation in Lissone.
Find vintage Dassi furniture by Fratelli Turri, Edmondo Palutari and other designers on 1stDibs.
$1,692Sale Price|25% Off
Beech and Walnut Root Console Table with an Orange Glass Top, Italy
By Dassi
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Italy, 1950s. This console table is made in beech and walnut root and features an orange back-painted glass top, two lateral shelves and a brass handle. This is a vintage p...
Brass
Dassi, Side Tables, Wood, Marble, Italy, 1940s
By Dassi
Located in High Point, NC
A pair of wood and marble side tables produced by Dassi, Italy, c. 1940s. In vintage condition, with visible wear consistent with age and use. Scattered scuffs and minor abrasions t...
Marble
Gilbert Poillerat Art Deco Side Table, 1940s
By Gilbert Poillerat
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gilbert Poillerat Art Deco Side Table, France, 1940s A refined example of French decorative ironwork, this side table reflects the unmistakable hand of Gilbert Poillerat, whose work...
Brass
$6,184 / item
H 35.44 in W 59.06 in D 21.66 in
Art Deco Fontaine Console Table, Beech Gold Leaf, Handmade Portugal Greenapple
By Rute Martins, Greenapple
Located in Lisboa, PT
Art Deco Fontaine Console Table, Modern Collection, Handcrafted in Portugal - Europe by Greenapple. The Fontaine console table is named after Jean de La Fontaine, the renowned Frenc...
Onyx, Marble, Brass, Stainless Steel, Gold Leaf
$3,504 / set
H 9.45 in W 14.18 in D 7.49 in
Wall-Mounted Brass Nightstands or Console with Demilune Glass Top, Italy, 1950s
Located in London, GB
Elegant console tables made in Italy in 1950s. Sculptural base attaches to the wall supporting top frame of demilune glass. The brass base has a vol...
Brass
$10,794Sale Price|20% Off
H 34.26 in W 38.19 in D 18.12 in
Elegant Italian Empire Consoles Tables with White Marble Top, 1815
Located in Rome, IT
Empire mahogany and finely carved gilt-wood consoles tables with the rectangular Carrara white marble top. Timeless elegance for your interior. Measures: Height cm 102 width cm 124...
Mahogany
Paolo Buffa Wood Coffee Table, Italy 1940s
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Milan, IT
Paolo Buffa side table, Italy 1940s.
Wood
$2,895
H 29.5 in W 47.25 in D 14.25 in
Italian Mid-Century Walnut & Brass Console Table with Glass Top
Located in Troy, MI
This refined Italian console balances warmth and modernism with its dark walnut frame, precision brass corner hardware, and inset glass top. A lower shelf with glass inserts and a sl...
Brass
Gilbert Poillerat Art Deco Side Table, 1940s
By Gilbert Poillerat
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Gilbert Poillerat Art Deco Side Table, metal and glass, France, 1940s A refined example of French decorative ironwork, this side table reflects the unmistakable hand of Gilbert Poil...
Brass, Metal
Finnish Handmade Folk Art Burl Wood Side Table, 1940s
Located in Karis, Nyland
One-of-a-kind Finnish folk art side table from the 1940s, handmade from highly expressive birch burl. The table combines a thick, irregularly shaped top with a sculptural base formed...
Birch, Burl
1940s Italian Side Table in Walnut
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Side table, walnut, Italy, 1940s This small Italian table from the 1940s is a graceful piece with excellent woodwork. The first thing you notice is the round tabletop with its sligh...
Walnut
Rare Side Table by Pier Luigi Colli, Italy, 1940s
By Pier Luigi Colli
Located in Lewes, East Sussex
Rare Side Table by Pier Luigi Colli, Italy, 1940s. Wood / Burr Elm. Fast shipping worldwide.
Wood
Italian Baroque Walnut and Chestnut Side Table
Located in Stamford, CT
A handsome single drawer side table with beautifully carved and turned walnut base and a chestnut top. Late 17th or early 18th century Italian with a rich and deep honey patina.
Walnut
French 1940s Cream Lacquered Side Table
Located in CA, CA
A French 1940s cream lacquered side table of elegant form with three tapering curved legs.
Wood, Lacquer
1940s Italian Neo-Classical Style Urn Form Side Table
Located in Kennesaw, GA
This is such a handsome piece! It is an early Italian urn form side table with gilt trim. It is a dark stained walnut. The door swings open to single shelf storage. Manufacturer unkn...
Walnut, Giltwood
An Italian Travertine Topped Brass And Chrome Console Table
By Romeo Rega
Located in London, GB
A large console table in brass and chrome with a polished Italian Travertine stone top. Good scale and form. Attributed to Romeo Rega as very much in his style and quality. The stepp...
Travertine, Brass, Chrome
Maxime Old 1940s side/coffee table
By Maxime Old
Located in Philadelphia, PA
French Forties Art Deco side/coffee table by Maxime Old, circa 1944, in cherry and gilded wood. 35.5” diameter x 22” high. Restored and refinished. Signed on underside of top. MAXIME OLD (1910-1991) Born in Maisons-Alfort (a suburb of Paris), France, Maxime Old was the grandson and son of fine cabinetmakers. He received his formal training at Ecole Boulle in Paris and his work attracted the attention of the influential school director, Andre Frechet...
Cherry
Sold
H 24.41 in W 21.66 in D 15.36 in
A Pair Of Italian Rosewood Side Tables By Vittorio Dassi, c.1950
By Dassi
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
A very elegant pair of side tables designed by Vittorio, Alessandro and Plinio Dassi and produced in Lissone by Dassi, made in Italy in the middle of the 20th century. These wonderfu...
Marble
Sold
H 29.53 in W 41.34 in D 14.18 in
Vintage Sculptural Swan Motif Canaletto Walnut Console Table by Dassi, Italy
By Dassi
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Italy, 1950s. This is a high-quality console table, which is made in dyed Canaletto walnut and beech. It features two carved swans next to the pedestal. This is a vintage p...
Walnut, Beech