Entrepreneur Aurelio Zanotta founded Zanotta in 1954 in Nova Milanese, Italy. Originally called Zanotta Poltrona, it specialized in traditional furniture. By the early 1960s, however, Zanotta had established a reputation for edgy mid-century modern design. Today’s vintage furniture collectors know the brand well for its innovative and wholly sculptural chairs, coffee tables and more.
One of Zanotta’s earliest successes was the Mezzadro stool — better known as the Tractor stool — designed by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and his brother Achille in the late 1950s. In 1965, Zanotta was among the first furniture companies to work with expanded polyurethane foam and frameless construction, such as for the Throw-Away sofas and armchairs designed by Willie Landels. Another popular design was the Blow chair — designed by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi and Carla Scolari — viewed by many as a physical expression of late '60s carefree culture.
In 1969, amid the provocative movement we now call Italian Radical Design, Zanotta’s Sacco chair garnered major attention. The boundary-pushing beanbag chair was the brainchild of designers Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro who presented it to Aurelio Zanotta as a transparent vinyl sack loosely filled with small polystyrene balls. He suggested its signature brightly colored leather.
The Sacco chair won the 1970 ADI Design Museum’s Compasso d’Oro award. In 1972, the Museum of Modern Art in New York included it in the landmark exhibition “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” curated by designer Emilio Ambasz. In 2020, it received a Compasso d’Oro ADI Lifetime Achievement Award for 50 years of enduring popularity. It is now in museum collections around the world including the Triennale Design Museum of Milan, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.
After Aurelio Zanotta died in 1991, the company remained in his family and has been run by his three children since 2002. Zanotta continues to set the bar high for furniture design with trend-setting pieces.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Zanotta seating, tables and other furniture.
Alessandro Mendini's Cuculia Bowl for Zanotta, 1985
By Alessandro Mendini, Zanotta
Located in Dallas, TX
The Cuculia centerpiece bowl, designed in 1985 by renowned architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, is an extraordinary example of Italian design that continues to inspire. Made of...
Plastic
Alessandro Mendini's Cuculia Bowl for Zanotta, 1985
By Zanotta, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Dallas, TX
The Cuculia centerpiece bowl, designed in 1985 by renowned architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, is an extraordinary example of Italian design that continues to inspire. Made of...
Plastic
$1,567 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 11.82 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Murano Glass Large Vase Ocean Blue
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, Petalo large vase 3 petals, Murano glass, various colors Petal is a rounded vase that, thanks to some fine metal wires, when blown creates lobed shap...
Murano Glass
$1,567 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 11.82 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Murano Glass Petalo Large Vase Amber
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, Petalo large vase 3 petals, Murano glass. Petal is a rounded vase that, thanks to some fine metal wires, when blown creates lobed shapes that resembl...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Vase Topaz
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st Century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases ...
Murano Glass
$2,291 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 3.94 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Frosted Glass Vase Grey
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO frosted vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases desig...
Murano Glass
$3,015 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 3.94 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemella Murano Transparent Glass Vase Grey
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLA transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases d...
Murano Glass
$3,134 / item
H 0.91 in Dm 15.75 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Stella Tray Murano Glass Teal Blue
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini Stella tray Murano glass Teal Blue color. Designed in 2014, the year in which the collaboration between Alessandro Mendini and Purho began, Stella Lar...
Murano Glass
$2,241 / item
H 6.3 in W 8.27 in D 9.85 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Small Vase Murano Glass Mediterranean Blue
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini FRECCIA small vase in Murano glass. Designed by Alessandro Mendini, Freccia is a triangular base vase with an integral side which serves to give both ...
Murano Glass
$3,015 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 3.94 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Transparent Glass Vase Grey
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases d...
Murano Glass
Alessandro Mendini Murano glass bowl/centerpiece for Venini . Signed
By Alessandro Mendini, Venini
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great post modern bowl in bright red color , by the well known artist / designer Alessandro Mendini .signed Venini 94.
Glass
$3,015 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 3.94 in
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Transparent Vase Emerald Green
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases ...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Vase Amber Yellow
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st Century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases ...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Murano Glass Small Vase Blue
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, Petalo small vase, 6 petals, Murano glass, various colors Petal is a rounded vase that, thanks to some fine metal wires, when blown creates lobed sha...
Murano Glass