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.
$29,092Sale Price / item|20% Off
Zanotta Edizioni Alicante Cupboard in Wooden Frame by Alik Cavaliere
By Zanotta, Alik Cavaliere
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Zanotta Edizioni Alicante Cupboard in Wooden Frame by Alik Cavaliere Signed original. Wooden frame with polychrome inlay. Inside are a drawer and a...
Wood
Zanotta Quaderna 757 Cupboard by Superstudio in White Laminate
By Superstudio, Zanotta
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Quaderna 757 is a cupboard designed by Superstudio and produced by the Zanotta brand. Honeycomb core structure coated with white Print laminate, digitally printed with black squares ...
Laminate, Plastic
$4,568Sale Price|20% Off
H 60.24 in W 72.45 in D 18.9 in
French Provincial Wooden Cabinet Cupboard with Metal Mesh Doors
Located in Brescia, IT
This is a cabinet in French style, typical of the Provence, a country French province, with three doors closed by metal mesh panels, with keys. It is a contemporary handmade production in solid oakwood and it is painted in a warm sable color...
Iron
1-door Directoire style cupboard in solid wood
Located in Pontaubault, NORMANDIE
This wooden closet is offered in solid French cherrywood and is also available in oak. The hanging bar is fixed under a wooden shelf. This shelf is height-adjustable on a wooden rack. The oval entrance and key are in brass and fitted with a lock. The finish proposed here is a classic cherrywood "D" stain, with a natural varnish on the diamond and fluted fronts. The finish of every GONTIER cabinet is customizable. You can choose the wood stains and colors you prefer (see last pictures) MÉLANIE Collection This cupboard part of the MÉLANIE collection, a modern interpretation of the French Directoire style of the late 18th century. The straight, classic and timeless lines are embellished with rhombuses...
Wood, Cherry
Contemporary Sculpted Wardrobe/Cupboard in Solid Oak
By Sóha
Located in Paris, IDF
Wardrobe made of solid oak (+ linseed oil) Measures: 175 x 80 x 40 cm SÓHA design studio conceives and produces furniture design and decorative objects in solid oak in an authentic ...
Oak
Contemporary Sculpted Cupboard/Bookcase in Solid Oak
By Sóha
Located in Paris, IDF
Cupboard made of solid oak (+ linseed oil) Measures: 175 x 80 x 40 cm SÓHA design studio conceives and produces furniture design and decorative obj...
Oak
Antique Dutch Cupboard ~ Vaisselier in Stripped Oak
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique Dutch cupboard ~ Vaisselier in stripped oak is a charming ode to traditional craftsmanship by Dutch masters that goes back many centurie...
Steel
$9,280
H 82.68 in W 67.72 in D 23.23 in
1890s Tuscany Renaissance Cupboard Wardrobe in Carved Walnut by Dini e Puccini
Located in Vigonza, Padua
1890s Renaissance Revival cupboard wardrobe in carved walnut, with two internal mirror on doors by Dini & Puccini (Cascina - Tuscany) It can be used as a bookcase by adding internal ...
Mirror, Walnut
c. 1840 Country Georgian Corner Cupboard in Blue
Located in Dekalb, IL
Primitive corner cupboard in worn blue paint over red wash, with true hand-cut joinery and panel doors. This cabinet is a workhorse of 19th-century rural craftsmanship-built without...
Wood
19th century linnen cupboard in original white paint
Located in Vosselaar, BE
Great in its simplicity. 19th century Italian cupboard in its original patina.
Softwood
Sand Senses Cupboard in Wood by Hillsideout
By Hillsideout, Rossana Orlandi
Located in Milan, IT
The Sand Senses cupboard features materials made with sand and surface that stimulate senses when touched. Sand seems to have no limit. Burnt sand makes the Murano glass transparent. Concrete incorporates more than one type of sand - one comes from the river and the other one has been transformed through a chemical process. Wood is sandblasted and treated with oil-wax to obtain the smoothest surface possible. Geometric shapes can be found in the concrete legs, in the cupboard doors, as well as on the top enriched with openings in colored Murano glass. With its four colorful doors, two drawers and several shelves, this piece turns out to be a very aesthetically pleasing and practical cupboard; representing the perfect solution for both storing and showcase use...
Concrete
$8,647Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 51.19 in W 39.38 in D 15.75 in
Bodega Bar Cabinet, Cupboard in Dark Wood Marquetry Veneer by Joel Escalona
By Joel Escalona
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
BODEGA CABINET Bodega Collection refers to cellar art or better known as chiaroscuro, a technique of extreme contrast of light and shadow used by Caravaggio. Cabinet designed by Jo...
Metal
$16,000
H 51 in W 19.5 in D 19.5 in
Signed Zanotta Genesio Chest of Drawers in Veneered Wood by Alik Cavaliere
By Zanotta, Alik Cavaliere
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Born from the experimentations of Zabro Zanotta Edizioni is a special collection of furnishing items verging on art and design. Items in this collection are inspired by the Italian artistic handcrafting tradition. Free from the bonds of industrial production, they are charged with the powerful charm of "handmade” objects. Genesio Design Alik Cavaliere, 1990 Furniture as sculptures and stories. Creations designed by Alik Cavaliere have an unmistakeable mark in art as in design. The role of decoration is central: wooden inlay work, smelted metal and lacquered images. This Roman artist who became Milanese by adoption (for 30 years, he taught sculpture at the Academy of Brera, where he was also the director) was also a design alchemist. He used metals, bronzes, porcelain and glass and experimented with enamels, rare pigments and even gold. He worked from memory by soldering, smelting and assembling. “I always used materials like a director does, like a theatrical property man or the narrator of stories and tales.” Cavaliere has created 3 show pieces...
Bronze
Painted Cupboard
Located in Washington, DC
Painted cupboard in two pieces. Original paint. Lots of storage.
Wood, Paint