Post Modern Papillona 750 Floor Lamp by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Flos, 1975
About the Item
- Creator:Afra & Tobia Scarpa (Designer),Flos (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 76 in (193.04 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)Depth: 10 in (25.4 cm)
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Voltage:220-240v
- Lampshade:Included
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1975
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6417234881332
Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Widely recognized as superstars of postmodern Italian design, husband-and-wife team Afra and Tobia Scarpa (1937–2011; b. 1935) collaboratively created chairs, sofas and other furniture that work equally well in both traditional and cutting-edge environments.
Ranging from architecture and interior design to furniture and clothing, the Scarpas’ practice from its beginnings in the mid-1950s to the 21st century has included a diverse scope of projects combining new technology with thoughtful function and sculptural yet simple forms.
Afra Bianchin and Tobia Scarpa met as architecture students at the Università Iuav di Venezia. In a class led by architect and furniture designer Franco Albini, they created their first collaborative piece, the Pigreco armchair, later produced with Gavina. After graduating in 1957, Tobia worked for Murano glass company Venini & Co. before the couple opened a studio in Afra’s hometown, Montebelluna, in 1960. (Tobia, the son of famed glass artist and architect Carlo Scarpa, was born in Venice.)
For Afra and Tobia, a close collaborative process was pivotal to the success of their designs. The duo was also prolific — they designed for the most influential European manufacturers, including B&B Italia, Cassina, Knoll and FLOS. With respect to the latter, Afra and Tobia were among the legendary Italian lighting maker’s earliest collaborators, and their pioneering designs for the brand included the Papillon lamp, one of the first fixtures to use halogen technology. Their most recognized designs include the Bastiano sofa (1962), the Vanessa bed (1959), the Coronado sofa (1966) and the Soriana seating collection (1970). Work on the Soriana sofa began in late 1969 for an early 1970 debut, and it feels as radical today as it did in its heyday.
Architecture was also a central part of Afra and Tobia’s practice, which spanned residential buildings and factories for Italian companies such as Benetton. Their commissions for the global fashion brand included numerous industrial projects, from textile plants to storefronts. By 1985, Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s work was celebrated in a 30-year retrospective at Center Four in Queens, New York. Looking around the 30,000-square-foot exhibition space, Afra joked to the New York Times, “Seeing all those things makes us feel very tired, and now we feel that maybe we worked too much.”
It was not too much for their legacy, as Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s work continues to inspire new generations. Scarpa designs are in collections at the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The couple was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1970 for the Soriana armchair.
Find vintage Afra & Tobia Scarpa furniture today on 1stDibs.
Flos
Imaginative lighting is a longtime hallmark of modern Italian design. Following in the footsteps of innovative companies such as Artemide and Arteluce, the company FLOS brought a fresh aesthetic philosophy to the Italian lighting field in the 1960s, one that would produce several of the iconic floor lamp, table lamp and pendant light designs of the era.
FLOS — Latin for “flower” — was founded in the northern town of Merano in 1962 by Cesare Cassina (of the famed Cassina furniture-making family) and Dino Gavina, a highly cultured businessman who believed that artistic ideas espoused in postwar Italy could inform commercial design. The two enlisted brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni as their first designers.
Even before FLOS was formally incorporated, the Castiglionis gave the firm one of its enduring successes with the Taraxacum pendant and associated designs made by spraying an elastic polymer on a metal armature. (George Nelson had pioneered the technique in the United States in the early 1950s.) For other designs, the brothers found inspiration in everyday objects. Suggestive of streetlights, their Arco floor lamp, with its chrome boom and ball-shaped shade sweeping out from a marble block base, has become a staple of modernist decors. Designing for FLOS since 1966, Tobia Scarpa has also been inspired by the commonplace. His folded-metal Foglio sconces resemble a shirt cuff; his carved marble Biagio table lamp looks like a jai alai basket.
In 1973, FLOS purchased Arteluce, the company founded in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti, and it continues to produce his designs. In recent decades, FLOS has contracted work from several noted designers, including Marcel Wanders and Jasper Morrison. As instantly recognizable as they are, many FLOS designs remain accessible. While FLOS lighting is the essence of modernity, its sleek, subtle designs can be used to strike a sculptural note in even traditional spaces.
Browse a broad range of FLOS lighting fixtures at 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: San Diego, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa Soriana Couch for Cassina in Freshly Upholstered LeatherBy Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in San Diego, CADoesnt get cooler and comfier than this! We have 2 gorgeous Soriana sofas available. Both have been reupholstered in soft new leather Italian. The metal detail on the sofas make it ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Robert Sonneman Eyeball Floor LampBy Robert SonnemanLocated in San Diego, CARobert Sonneman eyeball floor lamp circa 1960s, USA. The lamp features a chrome sphere shade on a pivoting arm that can be adjusted to mult...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Brazilian Modern 3-seater Sofa in Espresso Leather by Sergio RodriguesBy Sergio RodriguesLocated in San Diego, CAAs with all of Sergio Rodrigues' chairs, this sofa is as comfortable and livable as can be. This is a completely restored 3-seater Sheriff sofa designed b...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- La Fonda coffee table by Alexander Girard for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles EamesLocated in San Diego, CALa Fonda coffee or large end table designed by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured by Herman Miller. This series was designed for the La Fonda restaurant, designed by Alexander Gi...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSlate, Chrome
- 1st Generation Mr Chair and Ottoman by George Mulhauser for PlycraftBy George MulhauserLocated in San Diego, CAGeorge Mulhauser designed this incredibly comfortable and attractive Mr Chair and ottoman in early 1960. We have restored the bentwood walnut shell and reupholstered in brand new bla...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Peacock Chair by Hans J. Wegner for PP Møbler, in Ash PP550By Hans J. Wegner, PP MøblerLocated in San Diego, CAPeacock Chair designed by Hans J. Wegner for PP Møbler is an easy chair with a natural papercord seat. The Peacock Chair is historically anchored in the classic British Windsor Chair...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Ash, Teak
- Vintage Italian Papillona Lamp by Tobia & Afra Scarpa for Flos, 1970sBy Flos, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in London, GBA very stylish and iconic vintage Italian Papillona lamp by Tobia and Afra Scarpa for Flos. This was made in Italy and dates from around the 1970’s. This is of super quality and has...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- PAPILLONA Floor Lamp by Tobia Scarpa for Flos, Italy - 1975By Flos, Tobia ScarpaLocated in Berlin, DEMaterial: Cast aluminum powder-coated, textured glass mirrored, halogen rod 300 watt or corresponding bulb LED, cord switch on connection cable, dimmer on rod. Condition: Good origi...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Floor lamp Papillona by Tobia Scarpa for Flos 70sBy Flos, Tobia ScarpaLocated in Padova, ITFlos Papillona is a floor lamp with a simple and modern design. Designed by Tobia Scarpa in 1975, it is a classic from those memorable years which saw t...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- "Butterfly" floor lamp by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for FlosBy Flos, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Conversano, ITStunning floor lamp designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for the Italian company "Flos" in the 1980s, model Butterfly. Black enameled aluminum stem surmounted by a dimming halogen lamp; a...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Flos "Papillona" LampLocated in New York, NYAfra and Tobia Scarpa (Italian, 1935-2011, b. 1937) for Flos "Papillona" Floor Lamp, patinated white metal, designed 1975, stamped "Flos / Papillona 750 / Design Registerd / Made in ...Category
Late 20th Century Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Lampada da terra Modello Papillona Designer Afra e Tobia Scarpa Prodotta da FlosBy Flos, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Torino, PiemonteLampada da terra modello Papillona disegnata da Afra & Tobia Scarpa e prodotta da Flos Italia. Lampada disegnata negli anni '70. Stelo in acciaio verniciato nero e diffusori in vetro.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsAluminum