Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
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 (1953). Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo di 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.
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Chrome
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Aluminum
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Steel, Aluminum
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Wood
1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Glass, Walnut
1940s Italian Other Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal, Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Aluminum
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Steel, Nickel, Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal, Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Bamboo, Rattan, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Plastic, Wood
1960s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Steel, Brass
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Aluminum
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Beech, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century Hollywood Regency Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Rattan
1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Pine
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
1960s Italian Space Age Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Chrome
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Leather
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal
1960s Italian Space Age Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Wood, Leather
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Metal, Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Aluminum
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Aluminum
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Aluminum, Steel
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Crystal, Brass
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Osvaldo Borsani Racks and Stands
Steel