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Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Italian, 1917-2007

An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. He was a wild man of the Radical Design movement that swept Italy in the late 1960s and ’70s, rejecting rationalism and modernism in favor of ever-more outrageous imaginings in lighting and furniture such as mirrors, lamps, chairs and tables.

Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. 

The Memphis Group mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking.

Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals. 

Sottsass created innovative furnishings for the likes of Artemide, Knoll, Zanotta and Poltronova, where he reigned as artistic director for nearly two decades beginning in 1958. His most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most inspired and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.

Sottsass left the Memphis Group in 1985 in order to concentrate on the growth of Sottsass Associati, a design and architecture consultancy he cofounded in 1980. 

It was as an artist that Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.

Find Ettore Sottsass lighting, decorative objects and furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass Rare Limited Edition Piccoli Libri Cabinet, 1992
By Ettore Sottsass, Design Gallery Milano
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Piccoli Libri cabinet designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1992 edited by Design Gallery Milano. P.A from a Limited edition of 9 + 3 P.A. Plastic laminate-covered, maple-veneered woo...
Category

1990s Italian Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Plastic, Wood

Carlton Wood Miniature Bookcase by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano Collection
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Here you are shown an authentic and perfect reproduction of the Carlton bookcase, originally designed in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass. The vivid colors and...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Wood, Plastic

Casablanca Wood Cabinet, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano Collection
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano, Memphis Group
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Casablanca cabinet designed in 1981 for Memphis by Ettore Sottsass, in wood and plastic laminated colors. This is an unlimited edition with a number...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Wood, Plastic

Bookcase Cabinet Donau, Ettore Sottsass & Marco Zanini for Franz Leitner, 1980s
By Ettore Sottsass, Marco Zanini
Located in Zagreb, HR
A rare Memphis design bookcase cabinet from the "Donau" series designed in 1986 by Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanini for the Austrian furniture maker...
Category

1980s Austrian Post-Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Zanotta Edizioni Nairobi Bar Cabinet in Red Veneered Laminate by Ettore Sottsass
By Zanotta, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Zanotta Edizioni Nairobi Bar Cabinet in Red Veneered Laminate by Ettore Sottsass Signed original. Red veneered laminate frame (design E. Sottsass). Base and inner frame with drawe...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Ettore Sottsass Casablanca cabinet Memphis Milano 1981
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Ettore Sottsass's Casablanca cabinet boasts a totem-like profile, closely resembling his iconic Carlton room divider and Ashoka lamp. This piece stands out...
Category

1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Laminate

Nairobi Bar Cabinet by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Doral, FL
Nairobi Bar Cabinet by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta Edizioni 1989 Mod. 7500 Signed original. Red veneered laminate frame (design E. Sottsass). Base and inner frame with drawer and fol...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Brass

Kampa bookcase by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Design
By Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Ravenna, IT
The product in question is marked as 1stsample and is sold with a certificate of authenticity. Kampa is a three-element bookcase with table created by Ettore Sottsass as part of the ...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Post-Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Steel

Ettore Sottsass, Custom Cabinet, Maple, Italy, 1989
By Sottsass Associati, Ettore Sottsass
Located in High Point, NC
A maple and white-painted maple cabinet designed by Ettore Sottsass and custom-produced by Sottsass Associati, Italy for the Mayer-Schwarz Gallery, Beverly Hills in 1989. 
Category

1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Maple

"Casablanca" Cabinet, Design by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Italy, 1981
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Napoli, IT
"Casablanca" cabinet designed by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Italy, 1981. Wood construction with colored laminate covering shelving with two doors and three drawers. Unlimited Edi...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Radical Design Kubirolo Cabinets by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy, 1960s
By Poltronova, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Milan, IT
Scarce set of 7 Kubirolo modular shelving system by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova. The elements can be positioned in several ways, from full horizontal to vertical, creating differe...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Plastic, Wood

"Icarus" Metal Case Piece by Sottsass and De Lucchi for Olivettti, Italy, 1970s
By Michele de Lucchi, Ettore Sottsass, Olivetti
Located in Milan, IT
Metal cabinet from the Icarus project designed by Ettore Sottsass and Michele De Lucchi for Olivetti. Sturdy and capable piece able to bring the office concept to the domestic scale...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Metal

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Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
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MCM 2-Piece China Hutch Cabinet Buffet by Heywood Wakefield Contessa Collection
By Heywood-Wakefield Co.
Located in Topeka, KS
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"Times" Extendable Bar Cabinet by Torbjørn Afdal in Rosewood
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Bronze Mirrored Bar Cabinet by Ello
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Bronze Mirrored Bar Cabinet by Ello
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Milo Baughman Style Burl Wood Lighted Bookcase or Display Cabinet by Henredon
By Henredon, Milo Baughman
Located in South Bend, IN
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Rare Bar Cabinet in Walnut and Brass, 1930's
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D'Antibes Wooden Storage Cabinet, by George Sowden for Memphis Milano Collection
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Located in La Morra, Cuneo
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Radical Design Kubirolo Cabinets by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy, 1960s
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Located in Milan, IT
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Bar Cabinet by Gio Frigerio, Italy 1970s
By Frigerio
Located in New York, NY
Bar cabinet by Gio Frigerio. Red lacquer doors and mirrored interior. Makers label affixed to back.
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Bar Cabinet by Gio Frigerio, Italy 1970s
Bar Cabinet by Gio Frigerio, Italy 1970s
H 42.5 in W 60.75 in D 21.75 in
Bar Cabinet Carmen by Comité De Proyectos
Located in Geneve, CH
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Bar Cabinet Carmen by Comité De Proyectos
Bar Cabinet Carmen by Comité De Proyectos
H 43.31 in W 17.72 in D 35.44 in
'Carlton' Room Divider and Bookcase by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano, Italy
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano
Located in London, GB
Probably the most iconic of all Ettore Sottsass' designs, the colourful Carlton is half room divider, half bookcase and full size sculptural marvel. Des...
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Bar Cabinet Malcolm in Wood, Brass and Marble
By Mambo Unlimited Ideas
Located in Lisbon, PT
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Bar Cabinet Malcolm in Wood, Brass and Marble
Bar Cabinet Malcolm in Wood, Brass and Marble
H 51.97 in W 47.25 in D 21.66 in
Previously Available Items
Early Beverly Cabinet by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano 1981
By Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Aachen, NW
We are offering an early and rare Beverly cabinet by Ettore Sottsass. Designed in 1981 and produced in the early years by Memphis Milano in Italy. In the same year, Sottsass founded ...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Berlin, Berlin
Original "Casablanca" cabinet & sculpture designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981, Italy. Wooden construction with a coloured laminate surface, three drawers and a cabinet with two do...
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1980s Italian Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

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Laminate

Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
H 87.01 in W 59.45 in D 15.36 in
Italian Sottsass Post-Modern Brutalist Paul Evans Lift Chest
By Paul Evans, Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Forney, TX
A magnificent Italian designed, exceptionally executed, entirely handmade, showing high quality and sophisticated elegance of execution, having a rich, luxurious and whimsical presen...
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Late 20th Century Post-Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

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Metal, Steel

Donau Secretaire by Ettore Sottsass Memphis Design
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Antwerp, BE
Ettore Sottsass; secretaire; cabinet; Italian design; Memphis design; A "Donau" writing desk, c. 1990, blue lacquered wood feet, blue lacquered interior, and Birdseye maple made ...
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1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

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Metal

Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Berlin, Berlin
Original "Casablanca" Cabinet & Sculpture designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981, Italy. Wooden construction with a coloured laminate surface, three drawers and a cabinet with two door...
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1980s Italian Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

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Laminate

Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
H 87.01 in W 59.45 in D 15.36 in
The "Freemont" Cabinet by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano, Italy, 1985
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano
Located in Zagreb, HR
Freemont cabinet, an iconic postmodern design by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano Designed in 1985, wood, plastic laminate, aluminium, and gilded wood console. With manufactu...
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1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Aluminum

Malabar Cabinet Display Unit by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Italy, 1982
By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Group
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Sculptural sideboard / display unit / bookcase model "Malabar" designed in 1982 by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano comprises shelves and a cupboard in printed and solid colored la...
Category

Late 20th Century Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Metal

Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Berlin, Berlin
Cabinet designed by Ettore Sottsass, Italy, 1981. Wood construction with colored laminate covering. Shelving with two doors and three drawers. Unlimited edition with a metal label.
Category

1980s Italian Modern Vintage Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Laminate

Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
Casablanca Designed by Ettore Sottsass
H 87.01 in W 59.45 in D 15.36 in
Ettore Sottsass Cabinet Out Production Oak Design Edition, Italy
By Oak Design Edizioni, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Milan, Italy
Spectacular cabinet, has a large white melamine deck from which rise three erect parallelepiped bodies each covered with a metallized grooved coating, purple iridescent for one, mirr...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Laminate

Ettore Sottsass, Cabinet, Out Production, Oak Design Edizioni, Italy
By Oak Design Edizioni, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Milan, Italy
A spectacular cabinet, rectangular base in walnut veener, a large black closet, an almond green ash veener suspended box, a large black laminate side filling cabinet topped with a pink removable perspex box designed by Ettore Sottsass for Oak design edizioni...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Laminate, Plexiglass, Ash, Walnut

Ettore Sottsass, Cabinet, Limited Edition, Oak Design Edizioni, Italy
By Oak Design Edizioni, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Milan, Italy
Cabinet in lacquered wood and wood covered in mirrored glass designed by Ettore Sottsass and produced by Oak design Edizioni, Italy in 2000. Limited e...
Category

Early 2000s Italian Modern Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Materials

Wood

Mobile Giallo Chest of Drawer by Ettore Sottsass for Design Gallery Milano, 1988
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Jersey City, NJ
"Mobile Giallo" lacquered oak and briar chest of drawers by Ettore Sottsass for Design Gallery Milano, Italy, limited production from Sottsass' Bharata collection dedicated to the cr...
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20th Century Ettore Sottsass Cabinets

Ettore Sottsass cabinets for sale on 1stDibs.

Ettore Sottsass cabinets are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Ettore Sottsass cabinets, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 2 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 3 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original cabinets by Ettore Sottsass were created in the modern style in italy during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider cabinets by Shiro Kuramata, Saporiti Italia, and Vittorio Introini. Prices for Ettore Sottsass cabinets can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $1,003 and can go as high as $66,016, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $17,268.
Questions About Ettore Sottsass Cabinets
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass was an architect and designer. He founded the Memphis Group, a collective of designers active from 1981 to 1987. The Ultrafragola mirror is one of his most well-known designs. On 1stDibs, you can shop a variety of Ettore Sottsass furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass was from Innsbruck, Austria. He was born there on September 14, 1917, but he moved to Turin, Italy, as a child. The Italian architect and designer died in Milan, Italy, on December 31, 2007. You'll find a variety of Ettore Sottsass furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass was inspired by many things, including pop culture, travel and various cultures from around the world. His primary objective of his work was to bring out the deeper beauty of whatever he created. On 1stDibs, shop a collection of Ettore Sottsass furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    Ettore Sottsass is famous for his work as an architect and an industrial designer, which spurred a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. He was the oldest member of the Memphis Group, a design collective formed in Milan in 1980. Having grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown corporatized modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s, the Memphis Group produced bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high status by building furniture with inexpensive materials, such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes like animal skins. Other than his Ultrafragola mirror (1970), Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981. They include the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. Shop a diverse assortment of Ettore Sotsass furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    To pronounce Ettore Sottsass, say "AY-tore-ee SOAT-sas." The second syllable of the designer's surname sounds similar to the word “sauce” but with a shorter, clipped vowel. On 1stDibs, find a range of Ettore Sottsass furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass studied at the Politecnico di Torino in Turin, Italy. In 1939, he graduated from the institution with a degree in architecture. Sottsass began working as an artist and designer in the late 1940s. He produced furniture, ceramics, paintings, sculptures and jewelry. Find a variety of Ettore Sottsass furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass was a famous 20th century architect and designer known for his work in furniture, lighting, jewelry and more, as well as from his work in designing buildings. He was Italian, though he was born in Austria, and lived from 1917 to 2007. Shop a range of Ettore Sottsass pieces on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 1, 2024
    Ettore Sottsass used a variety of materials over the course of his career. The Italian artist experimented with glass, ceramics, enamel, brass, textiles and more. Along with fellow members of the Memphis Group, he skewed expectations for furniture by using inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates decorated to resemble exotic finishes like animal skins. He also revolutionized ceramics through the pieces he created for the Italian maker Bitossi. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Ettore Sottsass art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass's father, also named Ettore Sottsass, designed modernist architecture. He worked for the firm Movimento Italiano per l'Architettura Razionale or MIAR. Giuseppe Pagano was the company's head architect. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Ettore Sottsass furniture.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Ettore Sottsass did not design the Carlton room divider for a specific patron or client. He created the piece while working with the Memphis Group, an art collective that held joint shows from 1981 to 1987. Find a selection of Ettore Sottsass furniture on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertNovember 13, 2024
    The Italian design group led by Italian architectural and product designer Ettore Sottsass is called the Memphis Group. 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. The group decided to design, produce and market its 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. In addition to Sottsass, the members of the group included Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Kuramata, Paola Navone, Peter Shire, George Sowden and Barbara Radice, who was Sottsass's wife. Find a collection of Memphis Group furniture on 1stDibs.

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