Mario Bellini Cab Chairs, Set of Six
View Similar Items
Mario Bellini Cab Chairs, Set of Six
About the Item
- Creator:Mario Bellini (Designer),Cassina (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. leather has scuffs to edge, some stitching loss.
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85066348433
Mario Bellini
Milan-born architect and designer Mario Bellini just may be the closest thing to a modern-day Renaissance man: His creative output spans genres, from electronics to furniture to architecture to cars, comprising iconic designs in each. He has been the recipient of multiple prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards, and more than 20 of his works are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Born in 1935, Bellini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan before founding his own firm in his native city in the early 1960s. He soon branched out beyond architecture, however, first for the tech manufacturer Olivetti, where he served as chief industrial design consultant from 1963 to 1991. During that time, Bellini oversaw the design of some of Olivetti’s most popular typewriters.
His penchant for electronic design didn’t stop there: Bellini also designed cameras for Fuji, televisions for Brionvega and a slew of audio devices for Yamaha, then served as design consultant for Renault and devised the interior of the 1980 Lancia Trevi for Fiat. Meanwhile, his architecture work spans continents, including such modern gems as the Museum of Islamic Arts at the Louvre, the National Gallery of Victoria extension in Melbourne, the Dubai Creek Complex and the Milan Convention Centre in his hometown.
And then there’s the furniture: Over the last 70 years, Bellini has designed office furniture for Vitra; lamps for Artemide, Erco and FLOS; porcelain for Rosenthal and long-admired sofas and other seating for Kartell, Natuzzi, B&B Italia, Cassina and more.
His oft-imitated 1977 Cab chair for Cassina, comprising 16 individual pieces of saddle leather that create a “skin” over a minimal metal frame, remains one of the manufacturer’s best sellers today. His pudgy-legged, round tables for Cassina foreshadow Faye Toogood’s widely loved Roly Poly line. His postmodern Summa armchairs for Kartell, as well as his elegant Chiara floor lamp, still lure collectors on vintage furniture websites.
Bellini’s most famous contribution to furniture design, though, may be his 1970 Camaleonda sofa for B&B Italia (then C&B Italia). An entrant to the 1972 MoMA show “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape,” the seat takes its name from the Italian words for chameleon and wave. Its bulbous, modular form makes it infinitely flexible. The sofa was a runaway hit at the show and, once discontinued, remained so popular among vintage dealers that B&B Italia reissued it in 2020 with all recycled materials and interchangeable seat covers. “Of all the objects I have designed, Camaleonda is perhaps the best in terms of its sense of freedom,” Bellini said.
Browse an expansive collection of Mario Bellini furniture — including dining tables, armchairs, mid-century sofas and more — today on 1stDibs.
Cassina
Furniture manufacturer Cassina is a prolific design house for more reasons than one: It not only owns the licenses to an exquisite collection of iconic chairs, sofas, tables and other pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries but also produces original works that are characterized by innovation and the finest Italian craftsmanship.
Cassina’s illustrious legacy includes being one of the first companies to bring industrial design to Italy in the 1950s. Founded in 1927 in Meda, Italy, by brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina, the Italian manufacturing giant originally specialized in bespoke woodworking. In nearly a century since its founding, the company has shown incredible foresight about design trends and the evolution of technology.
In 1964, Cassina signed an exclusive licensing agreement to manufacture furniture by Le Corbusier and his collaborators — such as the LC4 chaise longue made with trailblazing French modernist Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret — a move that would shape the future of the company. Cassina’s I Maestri collection is an ongoing initiative to restyle landmark designs from the 20th century, such as pieces by Gerrit Rietveld (the Red and Blue armchair from 1918), Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Franco Albini and Frank Lloyd Wright. The company preserves the intentions and original styles of their designs but adds updated techniques, materials and processes — rendering them the best possible combination of past, present and future. The brand has also worked with contemporary icons like Zaha Hadid, Gio Ponti and Philippe Starck.
Cassina’s original designs are cutting-edge as well. They include pieces for everyday use, the development of which is guided by comfort and the marriage of Italian craftsmanship with industrial technology.
Some of Cassina’s pieces, both from its contemporary and I Maestri collections, can be found in the collections of museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Vitra Design Museum. In 2014, the company became part of Haworth in its acquisition of Italian furniture group Poltrona Frau, and in 2015, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola joined Cassina as its art director, leading the brand into its next century of inventive style.
Find a collection of new and vintage Cassina furniture on 1stDibs.
- Dining Chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Set of Six, 1950sBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Houston, TXEdward Wormley, two armchairs, and four side chairs. Dunbar, USA. Mahogany and leather. Signed with applied gold rectangular metal manufacturer's label to the seat bottom [Dunb...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Richard Meier Armchairs Set of 10 for KnollBy Knoll, Richard MeierLocated in Houston, TXRichard Meier Armchairs, 10 chairs Knoll USA, 1982 Maple Measures: 26.5 H × 20.5 W × 20 D in. Large set. In original condition.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsMaple
$38,000 / set - Frank Lloyd Wright Chair from Price Tower, 1956By Frank Lloyd WrightLocated in Houston, TXFrank Lloyd Wright. Chair from Price Tower, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA , 1956. Aluminum, upholstery, plywood, rubber. 24 D x 35 H inches. Early...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
Price Upon Request - Afra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana set for CassinaBy Cassina, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Houston, TXAfra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana set Cassina Italy, 1970 leather, chrome-plated steel 28 h × 70 w × 41 d in Measurements are for the sofa. The price is for all three pieces.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé
$28,000 / set - Afra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana lounge chair and ottoman for CassinaBy Cassina, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Houston, TXAfra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana lounge chair and ottoman Cassina Italy, 1970s leather, chrome-plated steel, plastic chair: 26 h × 36 w × 52 d in ottoman: 15 h × 31 w × 36 d in Match...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé
- Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier LC3 lounge chair for CassinaBy Cassina, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand CassinaLocated in Houston, TXCharlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier LC3 lounge chair Cassina France / Italy, 1928 / c. 1995 mohair, chrome-plated steel 24 h × 39 w × 29 d inCategory
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Mario Bellini Cab Arm Chair for CassinaBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis iconic chair designed by Mario Bellini for Cassina c.1970s, Italy, features the original deep red saddle leather which is wrapped atop a steel frame. The back legs feature a bla...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- Mario Bellini for Cassina Set of Four Black 'Cab' Dining Chairs in LeatherBy Mario Bellini, CassinaLocated in Waalwijk, NLMario Bellini for Cassina, set of four 'cab' dining chairs model 412, black leather, Italy, 1976 Set of four chairs designed by Mario Bellini for Cassina in 1976. Conceptually, the ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- Mario Bellini for Cassina 'CAB 413' Dining Chairs in LeatherBy Mario Bellini, CassinaLocated in Waalwijk, NLMario Bellini for Cassina, armchairs, model 'CAB 413', leather, Italy, designed in 1979 The iconic ‘CAB’ chairs were designed by Mario Bellini in 1979. Conceptually new was the way ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Set of Six Vintage Mario Bellini for Cassina CAB Chairs in Oxblood LeatherBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Brooklyn, NYComplete set of six (two captain chairs model 413 and four side model 412) vintage "CAB" chairs designed by Mario Bellini for Cassina (ca. 1978, Italy). Bellini was known for constru...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Steel
- CAB Chairs by Mario Bellini for Cassina, Set of 6By Mario Bellini, CassinaLocated in Rivoli, ITMario Bellini 412 "CAB" dining chairs for Cassina, bordeaux leather, Italy, 1978, set of six. Very good conditions One of the most iconic Bellini's creations, "CAB" is the world’s first free-standing cowhide design chair, informed by the relationship between the skeleton and the skin; an authentic example of production excellence that requires multiple stages of artisan workmanship to create a trendy tailored-to-fit object. The upholstery consists of sixteen pieces of saddle leather. Individually die-cut, they then undergo fourteen discrete procedures, again by hand. The pieces are sewn together only when their outer edges have been trimmed to ensure a perfect fit. Once assembled, the cover is attached to the chair’s steel skeleton and held in place by means of a zipper fastening, as in a bespoke tailored...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$10,938 / set - Mario Bellini 413 "CAB" Chairs for Cassina, 1977, Set of 6By Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Lonigo, VenetoMario Bellini 413 "CAB" chairs for Cassina, black leather, Italy, 1977, set of six. High-quality chairs consist of handstitched natural leather upho...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Who Is Mario Bellini, and Why Is His 1970s Camaleonda Sofa Everywhere Right Now?
Get the lowdown on the ultrachic modular sofas that are currently taking up real estate in your Instagram saved folder.
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.