Collectors of vintage mid-century modern furniture will find that the work of Italian designer Vittorio Dassi is elegant and sculptural, brimming with all of the clean, angular lines and pleasing symmetry associated with the best of the era’s offerings. While Dassi's name is less known to enthusiasts of the period’s furniture than the likes of Ico and Luisa Parisi, Franco Albini and other leading lights of mid-20th century Italian design, his case pieces, tables and seating will prove no less worthy of hunting down at today's flea markets and online marketplaces.
Wood was Dassi's preferred material — he favored rosewood, mahogany, walnut and other species for his covetable desks and wall units, which frequently featured decorative flourishes such as glass inlays, while a sideboard or buffet’s fronts might boast hand-carved geometric cutouts in lieu of brass door handles.
While little is known about Dassi's early life, it is believed that his career in furniture design began in 1940 at his family's company Dassi Mobili Moderni, in Lissone, Italy. Shortly thereafter, he took over managing the company from his father.
While Dassi produced dry bars and other case pieces during the 1950s that featured the motifs and ornament that are today attributed to the Art Deco movement, he created sumptuous mahogany nightstands topped with black glass and minimalist teak coffee tables that better represented the forward-looking spirit of mid-century modernism. His wall units of the era for Mobili Cantù are works of art — crafted in walnut and featuring birch veneers and high-gloss lacquer finishes as well as a single door front decorated with an abstract painting or otherwise provocative illustration, these structures would undoubtedly prove quite impressive to the likes of Poul Cadovius and George Nelson.
Dassi often collaborated with Italian architect, editor and furniture designer Gio Ponti. Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. A collaboration between Dassi and Ponti of note is the pair’s work on the Hotel Royal in Naples — Ponti was commissioned to design the hotel and he partnered with Dassi to design the hotel's furnishings.
Today, Dassi Mobili Moderni S.R.L. is still in operation in Lissone.
Find vintage Vittorio Dassi furniture on 1stDibs.
Dassi and Ferrari Italian Mid-Century Walnut & Maple Sideboard
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Mid-Century (1950s) walnut & maple sideboard with and open bottom shelf below 2 Pair of doors centering a carved relief panel above a blue & gold painted shelf with a blue gl...
Glass, Maple, Paint, Walnut
$11,840Sale Price|20% Off
Unique Rosewood Cabinet by Vittorio Dassi with Painting by Pietro Toppi, 1955
By Consorzio Esposizione Mobili Cantù, Vittorio Dassi
Located in bergen op zoom, NL
Stunning unique rosewood storage cabinet designed by Vittorio Dassi, Italy with unique hand painted panel signed by the famous Italian artist Pietro Toppi. This cabinet was clearly a...
Brass
Vittorio Dassi Palisander Dining Table with Marbleized Glass Top
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Hanover, MA
1950's Italian Rosewood Dining Table by Vittorio Dassi. The top is a single piece of glass which has the original reverse-paint marbelized finish the colors of creme brule. A...
Palisander
Vittorio Dassi Italian Mid-Century Modern Fruitwood and Bronze 4-Drawer Chest
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Mid-Century Modern 4-drawer chest with a lightly vertically striped fruitwood veneer, with bronze and ebonized drawer pulls and a muted green ...
Fruitwood
$4,679Sale Price|27% Off
Art Deco Dassi Walnut and Glass Top Italian Commode Chests of Drawers, 1950
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Roma, Lazio
Very very special for its design of this Vittorio e Plinio Dassi's chest of drawers, from the middle of the century. All veneered in walnut, with green lacquered glass top. Commode...
Glass, Walnut
$4,679Sale Price / set|27% Off
Vittorio Dassi Maple Wood and Velvet Midcentury Dinning Room Chairs, 1950
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Roma, Lazio
Set with six chairs in beautiful 1950 Design, with straight legs and very shaped backrest. Originality and style for these chairs designed for classy furnishings. The six chairs hav...
Velvet, Maple
Rare Credenza by Vittorio Dassi
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Torino, IT
Sideboard by Vittorio Dassi Rare piece of furniture designed by Vittorio Dassi. Dassi founded his company in the 1950s and produced high-end furniture, combining craftsmanship with...
Brass
Vittorio Dassi, pair of organic shaped coffee tables
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Milano, IT
COD-2842 Vittorio Dassi (1893-1973) Pair of organic shaped coffee tables with marble top and base. Manufactured by Dassi Turin, ca.1930/40s. Vittorio Dassi, a key figure in the r...
Marble
$1,591Sale Price|20% Off
Couple of Italian Mid-Century Armchairs in Yellow Velvet by Vittorio Dassi
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Made of maple and yellow velvet, these mid-century Italian armchairs or armchairs were designed by Vittorio Dassi in 1950. Elegant lines are characterized by soft and rounded shapes ...
Velvet, Maple
$1,346 / set
Italian c. 1940's Pair Of Side Tales By Dassi
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in London, GB
A pair of Italian c.1940's bedside tables by V.Dassi in ash and clear top glass shelve with a blue glass at the bottom
Glass, Ash
Dining Chairs Attributed to Vittorio Dassi for Dassi, 1950s, Set of 6
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Set of six chairs attributed to Vittorio Dassi, 1950s. Ebonized beech structure, green leatherette seat and backrest, brass tips. Piece attributed to the above designer. It has no h...
Faux Leather, Beech
$4,679Sale Price|46% Off
Modular Sideboard with 3 Bodies on Legs attributed to Vittorio Dassi, Set of 3
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Modular sideboard attributed to Vittorio Dassi, 1950s. Rosewood structure, brass hardware, aqua green decorated glass top with solid rosewood frame. Each of the three modules has a p...
Brass
Dassi Mixed Wood and Slate Top Low Table
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Queens, NY
Italian Mid-Century Square Low coffee Table with a slate top having a geometric mixed inlaid wood border resting on a solid squre base (DASSI) Base need some refinishing
Wood
Pallissandro Alps Green Marble Base Ceramic Table Attributed to Vittorio Dassi
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Rosewood table with glass top and green alpi marble base by Vittorio Dassi For Dassi, 1950s. Rosewood table designed by Vittorio Dassi in the 1950s....
Marble, Brass