Ettore Sottsass, Desk Chair, Model Z9 for Olivetti, Italy, circa 1970
View Similar Items
Ettore Sottsass, Desk Chair, Model Z9 for Olivetti, Italy, circa 1970
About the Item
- Creator:Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33.86 in (86 cm)Width: 16.54 in (42 cm)Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Nice, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU935722514672
Ettore Sottsass
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
- "Kerylos", in the Style of Emmanuel Pontremoli, Six Chairs, France, circa 1970Located in Nice, Cote d' Azur"Kerylos", in the style of Emmanuel Pontremoli, Six chairs, Greek Model in wood and woven leather, Inlay of square shaped bones, Curved feet,...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Maison Jansen, Set of two chairs and a table, iron, circa 1970, FranceBy Maison JansenLocated in Nice, Cote d' AzurMaison Jansen, Set of two chairs and a round table, Black lacquered iron and golden brass, With cane decoration, Table with curved base, circa 1970, France Measures: Chairs: depth...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsBrass, Iron
- Fausto Melotti, Scultura A 'I Pendoli', Italy, circa 1970By Fausto MelottiLocated in Nice, Cote d' AzurFausto Melotti, Scultura A (I Pendoli), Steel sculpture, Signed on the base, numbered 420/500, Italy, circa 1970. Measures: height 40 cm, width 16 cm, depth 10 cm.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sculptures and Carvings
MaterialsSteel
- Architect's desk, wood and metal, circa 1970, France.Located in Nice, Cote d' AzurArchitect's desk in sliding beige lacquered wood with metal-plated casters, hinged top, two belt drawers, circa 1970, France. Height 76 cm, width 11! cm, open 2m27, depth 69 cm.Category
Vintage 1970s French Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
Price Upon Request - Isamu Noguchi '1904-1988', Akari Suspension Model 33N, USA, circa 1970By Isamu NoguchiLocated in Nice, Cote d' AzurIsamu Noguchi (1904-1988), Akari Suspension Model 33N, Washi paper, Edition Ozeki & Co, Ltd. With its original box, United States, circa 1970. Measures: 158 x 40 x 40 cm. Isamu Noguchi was born on November 17, 1904, in Los Angeles. His Japanese father was a poet and his American mother a writer. In 1906, the family moved to Japan. He was sent to Indiana for schooling in 1918, and in 1922 he apprenticed to the sculptor Gutzon Borglum in Connecticut. For the next two years, he was a premedical student at Columbia University, New York, and took sculpture classes at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School, also in New York. Noguchi decided to become an artist and left Columbia in 1925. A John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1927 enabled him to go to Paris, where he worked as Constantin Brancusi’s studio assistant. In Paris, he became friendly with Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, and Jules Pascin. Noguchi returned to New York in 1928 and the following year showed abstract sculpture in his first solo show at the Eugene Schoen Gallery. In 1930, Noguchi traveled in Europe and Asia, studying calligraphy in China and pottery in Japan. In New York during the early 1930s, he associated with Arshile Gorky, John Graham, Chaim Gross, and Moses and Raphael Soyer, and introduced social content into his work. He began to design playgrounds, furniture, and theater decor, executing the first of numerous sets for Martha Graham. During World War II, Noguchi became a political activist and voluntarily spent seven months in 1941–42 at a Japanese-American relocation camp in Arizona. In 1949, he was given a solo show at the Egan Gallery, New York. In Japan in 1950–51, he designed gardens, bridges, and monuments and developed his akari (paper lanterns). He showed at the Stable Gallery, New York, in 1954 and 1959. Noguchi’s first solo show in Paris was held at the Galerie Claude Bernard in 1964. The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, honored him with a major retrospective in 1968. Throughout the 1970s, Noguchi continued to make large outdoor sculpture and fountains...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsPaper
- Tommaso Barbi, Three Nesting Tables, Italy, circa 1970By Tommaso BarbiLocated in Nice, Cote d' AzurTommaso Barbi, Three nesting tables, Brass, braided reed, metal, Italy, circa 1970. Measures: (Biggest) height 42 cm, width 40 cm, depth 39.5 cm. (Medium) height 37 cm, width...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Nesting Tables and Stacking Tables
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Synthesis Chairs by Ettore Sottsass's Design for OlivettiBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Alessandria, PiemonteRare set of seven Synthesis Chairs by Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti, marked under the seat, produced from 1970-1979.Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsIron
- Ettore Sottsass Model "Lodge" Italian 1986 Set of Six ChairsBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Madrid, ESSet of 6 chairs mod. "Lodge" designed by Ettore Sottass and produced by Bieffeplast. Structure made of black lacquered metal and reupholstered in boucle fabric. Italy, 1986. Our mai...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Midcentury Armchairs by Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti, 1970sBy Olivetti, Ettore SottsassLocated in HEVERLEE, BEBeautiful space age armchairs designed by Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti. Newly upholstered with the original color brown fabric. Simp...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Plastic
- Set of 4 "Synthesis" by Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti, 1970sBy Olivetti, Ettore SottsassLocated in Conversano, ITRare set composed by 4 "Synthesis" Chairs designed by Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti. The chairs are in very good conditions, despite their ages. Every chairs has a textile co...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- 1970, Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti Synthesi in Brown PlasticBy Olivetti, Ettore SottsassLocated in Amsterdam IJMuiden, NLThis chair is part of the private collection of Casey Godrie and is situated in his private house. Ask him for competitive shipping quotes. His incredible Dune Villa, Amsterdam Beac...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Sedia Da Collezione Desk Chair Olivetti Synthesis Design Ettore Sottsass 1975By Ettore SottsassLocated in taranto, ITSedia da collezione "desk chair", produzione Olivetti synthesis , design Ettore Sottsass, italia, 1975. Realizzata su struttura in metallo di colore marrone, seduta e schienale in...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsMetal
