With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests.
But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Osvaldo Borsani pair of LT8 ceiling-to-floor neon lamps by Tecno, Italy, 1950s
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Chiavari, Liguria
Pair of ceiling-to-floor neon lamps in painted metal and brass, model It8, manufactured by Tecno and designed by Osvaldo Borsani, 1950s. These lamps connect ceiling and floor with a...
Metal, Brass
20th Century Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno LT8 Sky-Ground Lamp 1960 Brass and Neon
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Turin, Turin
Osvaldo Borsani in 1953, together with his brother Fulgenzio, realized his most complex project: a company idea named after the "techne" of the Greeks, which means both art and technique. Tecno thinking was born: the perfect synthesis between the artisan experience of the atelier and its declination on a larger scale. Tecno is first and foremost an entrepreneur's project: Italy has begun its process of tertiarization; the office environment does not yet have its unquestionable formal definition, and that is where Osvaldo Borsani wants to get to: to reinvent for workspaces that mix of formal elegance, rigor and rational functionality that the modern movement had developed for domestic living. Here the very wonderful sky-ground lamp...
Brass, Metal
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
LT8 Floor to Ceiling Lamp by Astep in White and Brass
By Astep, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Rhinebeck, NY
LT8 / Floor Lamp by Osvaldo Borsani LT8 was conceived in 1954 for Borsani’s new bourn company Tecno, that would come to revolutionize the world of contract furniture, and presented...
Aluminum, Brass
$2,073Sale Price|25% Off
Arnaldo Pomodoro Bronze Sculpture for Borsani, Fixed on a Table Lamp, 1985-2021
By Arnaldo Pomodoro, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Rome, IT
Arnaldo Pomodoro bronze sculpture "medaglia" for Tecno, bronze signed on verso "A Pomodoro" and inscribed " Osvaldo Borsani 1985 Atelier Stefano J...
Bronze
An Important And Rare Chandelier By Osvaldo Borsani ca' 1940's Brass
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A rare and probably unique chandelier by Osvaldo Borsani with glass shades by Paolo Venini, ca' 1940's. Polished and lacquered brass. Large scale and very impressive in person embodi...
Brass
Atelier Borsani Varedo big chandelier from the 1940s
By Osvaldo Borsani, Arredamenti Borsani
Located in Vigevano, PV
Important chandelier from the 1940s produced by Arredamenti Borsani Varedo Lacquered wood, gilded carved wood with gold leaf, brass, cut crystal.
Brass
Model LT8 Floor Lamp by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Model LT8 floor lamp by Osvaldo Borsani. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1950s. Enameled metal, brass. Original European cord We recommend two Neon Fluorescent tubes. Bulbs...
Brass, Metal
L78 Floor Lamp by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Milano, Lombardia
L78 floor lamp by Osvaldo Borsani, Italy, 1950s. Designed for the X edition of the Triennale di Milano. Lacquered metal, neon lights. Measures: 11 x 13 x H 215 cm. 4.3 x 5.1 x H 84....
Metal
$764
H 21.66 in W 21.66 in D 21.66 in
Art Deco Bauhaus Chrome Chandelier from Napako, Czechoslovakia, 1940s
By Napako
Located in Żory, PL
Hanging lamp by Napako, made in Czechoslovakia in the 1940s. It has three arms with original glass shades and a chromed metal structure. A stylish and authentic piece of vintage Czec...
Steel, Chrome
20th Century Boule Floor Lamp Max Bill Style, 1960s
By Max Bill
Located in Paris, FR
A 1960s vintage floor lamp in the style of Swedish designer Max Bill's iconic design. This piece is built with 10 atomic style boule opal glas...
Steel
20th Century Rare Brass Floor Lamp by Tommaso Barbi, 1970s
By Tommaso Barbi
Located in Paris, FR
A sculptural vintage iconic floor lamp in Tommaso Barbi's signature design of three large shaped brass leaves that light up and a circular base. This particular model is rare. Italy...
Brass
$7,835 / item
H 18.51 in Dm 15.75 in
'Cosmic Solstice Ore' Table Lamp, Handmade Bronze Patinated Brass Table Light
By Eva Menz for Atelier001
Located in London, England
Taking inspiration from planetary shapes and textures, the Cosmic collection artfully explores the interplay of metal properties and a curated selection of patina finishes. Handcra...
Brass
$1,771 / item
H 19.69 in Dm 19.69 in
Gino Sarfatti Lamp Model 548 Polished Brass with Blue Difuser by Astep
By Astep, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Model 548 Design by Gino Sarfatti The table lamp designed in 1951 is a study in balance and light reflection through a screen, a recurring theme in Gino Sarfatti’s work. Model 548 ...
Metal
Floor lamp attributed to Osvaldo Borsani
By Arredamenti Borsani, Gio Ponti, Guglielmo Ulrich, Osvaldo Borsani, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Lugo, IT
Floor lamp attributed to Osvaldo Borsani. Dual ignition Good Condition Thank you
Brass
1940s Monumental Chandelier
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Eighteen-light tole, brass and chromed metal chandelier of monumental size. Scrolled brass arms radiate from a central dish upon which rests a floral grouping of tole leaves and chro...
Metal, Brass, Chrome
1940s Iron Gothic Chandelier
Ercole Barovier 1940s Chandelier from 'Lenti' Series
By Ercole Barovier
Located in New York, NY
Ercole Barovier elegant and rare clear crystal glass chandelier from Lenti series with semi-spherical applications, glass stem and matching canopy. This crystal glass chandelier with...
Glass
Pair of Delord & Garrault Floor to Ceiling Lamps
By Garrault-Delord
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Pair of rare "Sol au plafond" (floor to ceiling) lamps, made of different section of metal tubes holding an enlightnen plexi globe. Adjustable height ...
Metal, Chrome
Swedish Brass and Glass Chandelier, 1940
Located in Vienna, AT
Extravagant Swedish brass and glass chandelier from the 1940-1950s in the manner of Bröderna Malmströms Metallvarufabrik. Intricate ...
Brass
Elegant and Rare Chandelier by Barovier & Toso, Murano, 1940s
By Barovier&Toso
Located in Budapest, HU
Pink and ice handblown leaves in Murano glass, circa 1940. Piece of incredible beauty. From Private Collection Von Plant Baron.
Brass
Chandelier by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Chandelier by Osvaldo Borsani. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1940s. Beautiful linear bentwood chandelier consisting of a dark stained wood ribbon construction, paired...
Opal, Brass
Pair of Wall Lights by Osvaldo Borsani for Arredamenti Borsani Varedo
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of Wall Lights by Osvaldo Borsani for Arredamenti Borsani Varedo. Manufactured in Italy, circa 1940’s for the Borsani Family Villa Varedo. Enameled metal, brass. Rewired for U.S...
Brass, Metal
Pair of Osvaldo Borsani Wall Lights
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in New York, NY
Pair of midcentury wall lights by Osvaldo Borsani. Each has a frosted glass shade on a dark bronze frame. Condition: Good vintage condition. Some discoloration and striations to the...
Floor Lamp LT8 by Osvaldo Borsani, Arredoluce, Italy, 1958
By Arredoluce, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Berlin, DE
Floor lamp LT8 by Osvaldo Borsani, Arredoluce, Italy, 1958 for suspension between ceiling and floor.
Metal, Brass