Architect, urban planner, glass, furniture and landscape designer, and interior decorator — Tomaso Buzzi was a 20th-century renaissance man. Buzzi, along with his frequent collaborator Gio Ponti, led Italy’s Novecento Milanese movement of the 1920s and ‘30s — an approximate equivalent to France’s Art Deco movement. While Buzzi is prized for chairs, tables and other furnishings that modernized the majestic lines of 18th-century designs, he is best known for the remarkable, jewel-toned glassware he produced in a two-year stint as the artistic director of the Venini glassworks on the Venetian island of Murano.
Buzzi was born in 1900 in the town of Sondrio in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. He studied at the Milan Polytechnic, and soon after he graduated joined a lively Milanese decorative arts scene. In 1927, he and Ponti joined fellow designers Paolo Venini and Michele Marelli to form a design collaborative called Il Labirinto (the Labyrinth), Italy’s answer to the Wiener Werkstätte. In 1932, when Venini's glass company lost the design services of the sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi, who left to start his own factory, he turned to Buzzi. The young architect’s careful study of lighting design and a love for experimentation yielded major innovations in Murano glass fixtures. The forms of his wares were inspired by sources from antiquity as diverse as Persian urns and animal-shaped Etruscan jugs. Buzzi developed a complex glass-layering method that produced deep, glowing pastel colors that ran from pink to peach, to sea-green and slate blue.
Buzzi furniture has a noteworthy elegance and nobility. Delicate chairs with arrow-shaped backs and elaborate burled wood armoires are typical of his aesthetic, and would add a sophisticated note to any room, modern or traditional. And an exemplary piece of Buzzi’s vibrant, lustrous glassware would merit a place of honor in every design collection.
Rare Set of Two Wood Armchairs by Tomaso Buzzi, Italy, 1930s
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in Milan, IT
Mid 1930s armchairs by Tomaso Buzzi. Literature and provenance available upon request.
Upholstery, Wood
Set of 8 Fine French 1930s Armchairs
Located in Long Island City, NY
A set of eight fine French Art Deco solid cherry wood bridge armchairs with bronze sabots. Price is for a set of 8 chairs only (not 12 as mentioned in "Sold As")
Bronze
$5,681 / set
H 32.68 in W 22.84 in D 19.69 in
Set of 4 Italian Authentic Armchairs, Chintz Cover and Landscape Scenery, 1930s
Located in Wolfurt, AT
This set of four armchairs was made in Italy in the 1930s. The chair frame is made of oak and the seat and back are covered in chintz. The beige chintz fabric is printed with colourf...
Wood, Cotton
$1,953 / set
H 31.5 in W 22.45 in D 19.3 in
Set of Two Original Art Deco Armchairs, by Jules Leleu, Beech, France, 1930s
By Jules Leleu
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Designer: Jules Leleu Source: France Period: 1930-1939 This exceptional pair of Art Deco armchairs dates back to the early 20th century and bears the signature of renowned French de...
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood, Beech, Lacquer
$10,534 / set
H 29.53 in W 27.96 in D 35.44 in
Rare Art Deco Armchairs by J. Halabala from Thonet, Model H269, 1930s, Set of 2
By Jindřich Halabala
Located in Wrocław, Poland
Set of two Art Deco armchairs designed by famous Jindrich Halabala in 1930s in Czechoslovakia. One of his iconic models, H269. The armchairs have been professionally restored, reupho...
Beech, Bentwood
$3,373 / set
H 27.17 in W 21.66 in D 20.48 in
Rare Set of Two Bauhaus Armchairs B 246 by Josef Frank for Thonet, 1930s
By Josef Frank, Thonet
Located in Praha, CZ
Rare Bauhaus armchairs B 246 designed by Josef Frank and manufactured by Thonet in 1930s. Historically, this model was among those installed in the iconic Villa Rezek in Vienna, buil...
Bentwood
Exceptional Tomaso Buzzi Mahogany Bench
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in North Miami, FL
In original velvet upholstery, this simple X-shape mahogany bench is perfect for a vanity or any other use. By Tomaso Buzzi.
Mahogany, Velvet
Art Deco Colonial Armchairs, 1930s, set of 2
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Art Deco Colonial Armchairs, wood, 1930s, set of two. These two armchairs reflect the bold lines and decorative flair of 1930s Art Deco, infused with a colonial influence. The woode...
Wood
Pair of Art Deco armchairs - Italy, 1930s
Located in London, GB
Characteristically Art Deco in its rounded geometry and symmetry, this pair of armchairs featuring a generous seat, back and armchairs, is underscored by attractive undulating detail...
Upholstery
$1,221Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 32.29 in W 30.32 in D 33.47 in
Set of Two Art Deco Armchairs Attributed to Halabala, 1930s
By Up Závody, Jindřich Halabala
Located in Praha, CZ
Solid armchairs by UP Zavody made in 1930s. Heavy and sturdy construction. Very well preserved fabric, only minor sun fading on one chair. Inner filling is soft after one hundred yea...
Fabric, Wood
Italian Art Deco Armchair, Vintage Fabric and Wood, 1930s
Located in Berlin, DE
Italian Art Deco Arm Chair
Fabric, Wood
Gio Ponti Tomaso Buzzi Sofa
By Gio Ponti, Tomaso Buzzi
Located in Red Lion, PA
Truly beautiful one of a kind authorized copy of Gio Ponti and Tomaso Buzzi 1930 Sofa. Walnut frame upholstered in satin silk. Manifactured by Carpani F.ll inc Literature: Mobili De...
Satin, Silk, Walnut
$9,705 / set
H 27.96 in W 28.75 in D 30.71 in
Set Of Two Art Deco Armchairs In Walnut And Fabric, Czechoslovakia 1930s
Located in Zohor, SK
A striking pair of Art Deco armchairs produced in Czechoslovakia in 1930s, expertly and completely restored. The chairs feature a solid walnut construction with sculptural armrests a...
Fabric, Walnut
Pair of Tomaso Buzzi Wrought Iron Armchairs
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in New York, NY
Rare armchair version of the classic wrought iron garden chairs by Tomaso Buzzi. Measure: Arm height 24.75 inches, seat height 15.5 inches. Original paint finish, shows some cosmetic...
Wrought Iron
Elegant Tomaso Buzzi Armchair, circa 1936
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in Rome, IT
Elegant Tomaso Buzzi armchair, circa 1936 elm wood ,black laquered elm , cotton fabric Misure: h 87 cm 57 x 56 cm available with a pair of chair of the same original forniture
Elm, Cotton