Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
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.
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
1940s Italian Art Deco Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
Early 20th Century Latvian Art Nouveau Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Metal
1940s French Art Deco Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Walnut
19th Century Antique Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Oak
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Walnut
1920s Italian Art Deco Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Cherry, Maple
Early 19th Century French Antique Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Cherry
Early 20th Century Hungarian Country Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Pine
20th Century Italian Rustic Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Fir
2010s French Neoclassical Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass
18th Century Chinese Qing Antique Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Lacquer
Early 20th Century Spanish Baroque Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Iron
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Brass, Bronze
1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Osvaldo Borsani Wardrobes and Armoires
Fruitwood