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.
"Paracar" Totemic White Floor Lamp by Zanotta, Italy, 1970s
By Zanotta
Located in Milan, IT
Opaline plexiglass round shade and plastic body. Top and base can be enlightened separately with a beautiful floor switch Literature: Casa Vogue magazine #4 May 1970 page 93
Plastic
Model 8½ table lamp with optic fibres by Jürgen Fischer for Zanotta, 1960s
By Fischer J., Zanotta
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Model 8½ table lamp with optic fibres, designed by Jürgen Fischer for Zanotta in 1969. As described by Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari in their book on Italian lighting: "Table lamp ra...
Metal
Italian modern magnetic table lamp by Theodore Waddell for Zanotta, 1971
By Theodore Waddell, Zanotta
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern magnetic table lamp by Theodore Waddell for Zanotta, 1971 Table lamp with magnetic ignition. The central base is a structure with a rectangular base with a convex top ...
Metal
Italian Designer, Floor Lamp, Brass, Italy, 1970s
Located in High Point, NC
A brass floor lamp designed by an Italian Designer, Italy, 1970s. Brass is unpolished and has retained beautiful patina. Each socket takes one light-bulb on standard medium base, n...
Brass
Mid-century Multicolored Fiber Optic Swivel Lamp, 1960s
Located in Palermo, IT
Mid-century multicolored fiber optic swivel lamp, 1960s Golden aluminum support. Good condition.
Aluminum
Table Lamp Model 597 by Gianfranco Frattini for Arteluce Italy, 1960s
By Gianfranco Frattini, Arteluce
Located in Berlin, DE
Table lamp designed by Gianfranco Frattini in 1961 and produced by Arteluce. Cylindrical structure covered with a dense curtain of fine rayon fringes, creating a soft, warm light as ...
Aluminum
$1,700
H 24.02 in Dm 16.54 in
Model 180 Marble Table Lamp by Florence Knoll for Knoll Inc., USA, 1960s
By Knoll, Florence Knoll
Located in GORINCHEM, NL
This refined Model 180 table lamp was designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International. Defined by its architectural simplicity and careful use of materials, the lamp combines a so...
Marble, Metal
Rare Model 565 Table Lamp by Gino Sarfatti, 1960s
By Gino Sarfatti, Arteluce
Located in Skokie, IL
Gino Sarfatti rare pair of model 565 table lamps for Arteluce, Italy, 1960s. Model 565 a direct light table lamp designed in 1956, has distinctive steel spring that holds the spotl...
Steel
Model 4/3 Table Lamp By Louis Poulsen Circa 1960s
By Louis Poulsen
Located in Gloucester, GB
Model 4/3 Table Lamp By Louis Poulsen Circa 1960s - Chromed steel base and stem - On/Off switch on the base - Stepped steel shade - Takes E27 fitting bulbs - Designed by Poul Hennin...
Steel
$2,225
H 8.27 in W 4.34 in D 8.27 in
Sculptural Travertine Table Lamp by Giuliano Cesari for Nucleo Sormani, 1971
By Nucleo, Giuliano Cesari
Located in Echt, NL
Beautiful travertine table lamp in excellent condition. Designed by Giuliano Cesari in 1971 Manufactured by Nucleo, a division of the Sormani lamp company, Milan Italy. Made out ...
Travertine
$1,700
H 23.23 in Dm 16.54 in
Model 180 Marble Table Lamp by Florence Knoll for Knoll Inc., USA, 1960s
By Florence Knoll, Knoll
Located in GORINCHEM, NL
This refined Model 180 table lamp was designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International. Defined by its architectural simplicity and careful use of materials, the lamp combines a so...
Marble
$2,678
H 17.72 in Dm 21.66 in
Italian Modern Brumbury Table Lamp by Luigi Massoni for Guzzini, Italy, 1970s
By Luigi Massoni, Guzzini
Located in Lucija, SI
Rare table lamp model Brumbery designed by Luigi Massoni for Guzzini. Made in Italy in the 70s in original condition with sign of use
Chrome
$392Sale Price|20% Off
H 6.49 in Dm 4.33 in
Danish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamp by Noomi Backhausen, 1971
By Poul Brandborg, Noomi Backhausen, Søholm Stentøj
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Handmade and hand painted Danish mid-century modern stoneware table lamp by designers Noomi Backhausen and Poul Brandborg for Danish Søholm Stentøj. Petite lamp with a glazed cat lik...
Stoneware, Ceramic, Pottery
$3,138 / item
H 4.73 in Dm 5.52 in
Pressed Glass Table Lamp, Eugenio Gentili Tedeschi for Fontana Arte, Italy, 1971
By Fontana Arte, Eugenio Gentili
Located in Schoorl, NL
A playful pair of Yoyo lamps made of pressed glass. These massive table lamps consist of two glass cylinders joined together by a stainless steel ring. The l...
Stainless Steel
Floor Lamp by La Murrina Murano, Italy, 1970s
By La Murrina
Located in SAINT-OUEN, FR
Floor lamp by the editor La Murrina Murano, blown glass ball typical from the manufacture with those bubble in the glass. Chrome structure. Simple and elegant. It s a famous maker li...
Chrome
1970s Italian Glass Floor Lamp
Located in Praha, CZ
- Very good original condition with minor signs of use - 1x E26-E27 bulb - US plug adapter included
Chrome
Italian Designer, Floor Lamp, Brass, Italy, 1970s
Located in High Point, NC
An adjustable brass and acrylic floor lamp likely designed and produced in Italy, c. 1970s. In good vintage condition, with visible wear consistent with age and use. Oxidation and t...
Brass
$141Sale Price|39% Off
H 6.3 in W 5.12 in D 5.12 in
Vintage Mid-century Scandinavian Danish Modern Magnetic H.63 Table Lamp, 1960s
By ABO Randers A/S
Located in Warszawa, Mazowieckie
This magnetic lamp was designed by Hans Jørgen Berthel for the Danish manufacture Abo Randers during the 1960s. Modell Ny-Mag H.63. This spherical lamp, in the style of Space Age, was made of metal in black. The lamp base is magnetic, which allows you to direct the light beam to any point. Hans Jørgen Berthel designed this model in the early 1960s, but it was later replicated by several Danish and Italian manufacturers with subtle design changes, including Frandsen Lighting and E.S. Horn. Lamps were available in various colors and hung in many Danish homes. Following the merger of Danish lighting companies in the 1980s and 1990s, Abo was first incorporated into Lyskaer-Lyfa with Fog & Mørup, then jointly into ES Horn...
Metal
Theodore Waddel TABLE LAMP, 1971
By Theodore Waddell, Zanotta
Located in Baranzate, IT
Low-voltage (6 volts) table lamp. The central base is a rectangular base structure with a convex top and is made of black plastic. Metal rods branch off from the sides of the base wh...
Metal
Table Lamp with Optic Fibre by Jürgen Fischer for Zanotta, 1969
By Fischer J., Zanotta
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Model 8,5 table lamp with optic fibres designed by Jürgen Fischer for Zanotta in 1969. As described by Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari in their book "Light – Lamps 1968-1973: new Italian design" - Picture No. 90: "Table lamp radiating diffused light. Twenty thousand optic fibres form the light diffusion hemisphere giving the effect of a starry dome. The light element is contained in the base. Manufactured in chrome metal and optic fibres." Rare piece. Another well-known model by Zanotta is the 7+ lamp designed by Theodore Waddell and Dante Bandini.
Metal
Sold
H 4.73 in W 4.73 in D 4.73 in
Table Lamp from the "Quaderna" Series by Superstudio, Zanotta, 1970
By Zanotta, Superstudio
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Extraordinarily rare table lamp from the "Quaderna" series designed by Superstudio for Zanotta in 1970. White laminated wood cubic base.
Laminate