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.
Vittorio Dassi, Vanity Console Table, Italy, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vittorio Dassi, vanity console table, Italy 1950s Vanity beauty with original large mirror of the 1950s: very particular shapes and geometries.
Cut Glass, Mirror, Walnut
$2,622Sale Price|20% Off
H 71.26 in W 35.44 in D 13.39 in
Ico Parisi Vanity Dressing Table, Glass & Beech Wood, Italy, 1950s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Florence, Tuscany
An extraordinarily elegant dressing table or vanity by Italian designer Ico Parisi. This wonderful piece of furniture has a glass dressing / console table at a height of 90cm below w...
Brass
$3,905
H 26.78 in W 35.44 in D 17.72 in
Italian Mid-Century Modern PetiteTable Desk Designed by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Stylish Italian Mid-Century Modern petite desk elegantly named "Dattilo" in wood teak designed by Vittorio Dassi, from the 1950s. The drawer front is very elegant, inspired by the co...
Brass
$6,983
H 71.66 in W 71.66 in D 18.12 in
Italian Midcentury Vanity Dresser in Parchment by Pierluigi Colli, 1950s
By Colli Torino
Located in Traversetolo, IT
This is a splendid vanity table or petineuse designed by Pierluigi Colli and crafted in Turin in the first half of the 1900s. The attention to detail is remarkable, with a plethora of exquisite features that elevate it to a true design masterpiece. The panels are adorned with parchment, while the solid maple is expertly carved with intricate designs. The golden frames finished with pure gold leaf add an opulent touch, the marvelous embossed brass lamps...
Glass, Mirror, Maple
$2,795
H 28 in W 52.25 in D 22.25 in
Paul McCobb Vanity Table for Calvin, Irwin Collection, Circa 1950s
By Paul McCobb, Calvin Furniture
Located in Peabody, MA
A mid-century modern vanity table in Honduran mahogany by Paul McCobb, for Calvin Furniture, Irwin Collection, circa late 1950s.
Mirror, Mahogany
$10,500 / set
H 25.5 in W 57 in D 24 in
Italian Modernist Maple Wood Vanity Table and Cabinet, Italy, circa 1950
Located in New York, NY
Italian Modernist Maple Wood Vanity Table with Stool and Cabinet, Italy, circa 1950 A highly unique vanity table with elegant and graceful proportions. Hand-crafted from warm-toned...
Glass, Maple
Italian Mid-Century Writing Desk by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Buccinasco, MI
Elegant and refined Italian Mid-Century writing desk designed by Vittorio Dassi in the 1950s, a period in which his work reflects the broader cultural dialogue of Italian post-war de...
Brass
1950s Robert Irwin Louis XVI Burl Walnut Dressing Table / Vanity
By Irwin Furniture
Located in Germantown, MD
A 1940s Robert Irwin Co. Furniture Louis XVI Style Burl Walnut Dressing Table / Vanity Measures 52" in width, 20" in depth and 30" in height. knee clearance is 24.5".
Mirror, Fruitwood
$3,314Sale Price|20% Off
H 30.71 in Dm 44.89 in
Italian Midcentury Extendable Dining Table by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Dassi Mobili Moderni, Vittorio Dassi
Located in Traversetolo, IT
Stylish Italian Mid-Century Modern dining table designed by Vittorio Dassi and produced by Dassi Mobili Moderni in 1950-1960. The table is extendable, adding one or two leaves and su...
Teak
Iluminated Make-up console - dressing table, Italy 1950s
By Luigi Brusotti
Located in Wolfurt, AT
1950s dressing table, attributed to Luigi Brusotti. Features a tilting mirror, main transparent glass tray, and lower frosted glass tray with dots patterns. E14 bulb to illuminate th...
Brass
Ikea Vanity 1950s Sweden
By IKEA
Located in Den Haag, NL
Must love this vanity so typical 1950s .Made by Ikea, Möbler. In the 1950s just a small Furniture seller in Sweden. This Little Vanity comes with Three drawers on top and one larger drawer on the right and on the left a pull down door, one original key . On top holding in a Brass fitting a oval tilting...
Wood
Oval Dining Table by Vittorio Dassi, Italy, 1950's
By Dassi, Vittorio Dassi
Located in Barcelona, ES
Oval dining table designed by Vittorio Dassi in 1950's, Italy. Ebonized maple wood structure with brass fittings and original curved green glass top with gold decoration.
Glass, Maple
Vintage Sideboard by Vittorio Dassi, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Roma, IT
Vittorio and Plinio Dassi, midcentury Sideboard. Width 200 cm - Height 97 cm - Depth 50 cm - Rosewood, metal and glass. Good conditions!
Metal
Sold
H 6.11 in W 39.77 in D 15.75 in
Vittorio Dassi Wall-Mounted Console Table in Wood, Brass and Glass, Italy, 1950s
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Roma, IT
Marvelous Mid-Century wall-mounted console in a refined combination of rosewood, glass, and brass. This incredibly elegant and sculptural piece was designed by the mastery of Vittori...
Crystal, Brass
Pair of Bedside Cabinets by Vittorio Dassi
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in London, GB
A rare beautiful pair of wooden nightstands with brass and glass detailing by Vittorio Dassi. Each stand has 2 drawers, a lower shelf and gr...
Vittorio Dassi Walnut and Glass Italian Midcentury Desk, 1950
By Vittorio Dassi
Located in Roma, Lazio
Desk well articulated in its design, beautiful collector's item. Desk from the mid-20th century of Vittorio Dassi. All veneered in walnut wood, surmounted by a large piece of monol...
Glass, Walnut