Mario Bellini ‘Le Bambole’ Lounge Chair in Original Cognac Leather
View Similar Items
Mario Bellini ‘Le Bambole’ Lounge Chair in Original Cognac Leather
About the Item
- Creator:B&B Italia (Manufacturer),Mario Bellini (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.75 in (73 cm)Width: 47.25 in (120 cm)Length: 28.75 in (73 cm)Seat Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1972
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Rotterdam, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1117219594292
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. Vintage Mario Bellini sofas, dining chairs and other seating pieces are widely coveted, and the designer has been the recipient of multiple prestigious Compasso d’Oro awards. 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 vintage Mario Bellini furniture — including dining tables, armchairs, mid-century sofas and more — today on 1stDibs.
B&B Italia
In 1966, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli cofounded C&B Italia, a modern Italian furniture manufacturer, with Cesare Cassina in northern Milan. From the outset, Busnelli and Cassina set about recruiting the most talented modernists in Italy to conceive of creative furnishings manufactured in modern ways. In the early 1970s, the company split, with Cassina founding his own eponymous firm and Busnelli taking leadership of what became B&B Italia.
For decades, Busnelli cultivated relationships with the world’s best design talent, resulting in furniture pieces that remain iconic today — be they Gaetano Pesce’s outwardly curvaceous Up seating (made for C&B, reintroduced by B&B) or tables from industrial designer Paolo Piva, each more sophisticated than the next in their geometrically complex steel-tube bases. B&B Italia earned four prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards: in 1979 for Mario Bellini’s Le Bambole, in 1984 for the Sisamo wardrobe system by Studio Kairos, in 1987 for Antonio Citterio’s modular Sity sofa and, in 1989, the first award given to a manufacturing company itself.
Other notable names who designed for B&B Italia over the course of its 54-year history include Patricia Urquiola, Naoto Fukasawa, Zaha Hadid, Ettore Sottsass and Vincent Van Duysen, to name a very few. And while these names bring star power to the B&B brand, in many cases, it was B&B Italia who helped usher in their celebrity, fostering a wave of design talent on the world stage.
The company’s forward-thinking vision manifested in its own headquarters, too: In 1972, B&B Italia tapped architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers to design a steel-framed, postmodern-style home for the brand, whose crisscrossing metal exoskeleton is reminiscent of the pair’s Centre Pompidou in Paris, which was built at roughly the same time. Now, B&B Italia manages a contract division and outdoor section as well as its residential arm, and it also controls production for Maxalto, a brand spun out with furniture designs by Antonio Citterio.
At 1stDibs, find a range of vintage B&B Italia furniture — including sofas, cocktail tables and more.
- Bambole Modular Sofa by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, 1970sBy Mario Bellini, B&B ItaliaLocated in Rotterdam, NL‘Le Bambole’ modular sofa by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, Italy 1972. Early edition, which varies from the newer production; the original shape is mor...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- Soriana Lounge Chairs by Afra & Tobia Scarpa in Original Leather, Italy, 1969By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Rotterdam, NLPair of Soriana lounge chairs by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy 1969. The chairs still have their original leather upholstery which gives them a lot of character. The origina...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Sculptural Lounge Chair ‘Le Pacific’ by Georges Tigien, France 1950sBy Georges TigienLocated in Rotterdam, NLSculptural lounge chair model ‘Le Pacific 2000’ by Georges Tigien, France 1950s. Interesting modernist design with the use of innovative materials such as the plastic rubber cord. Th...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsRubber, Wood
- Curved leather lounge chairs by Busnelli, Italy 1970sBy Busnelli, Studio G14Located in Rotterdam, NLCurved leather lounge chairs by Busnelli, Italy 1970s. Nice strong curved bulky shaped design upholstered in a high quality thick cognac co...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wenge
- Lounge Chair in Leather by De Pas, D’Urbino & Lomazzi for BBB BonacinaBy Gionathan de Pas & Donato D’Urbino & Paolo Lomazzi, BBB BonacchinaLocated in Rotterdam, NLLounge chair mod. 'Carrera' in leather by De Pas, D'Urbino & Lomazzi for BBB Bonacina, Italy ca. 1965. Iconic model and hard to find as a single lounge ch...Category
20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair in MohairLocated in Rotterdam, NLItalian lounge chair, 1950’s. Elegantly curved bent wooden frame with sleek Mid-Century Modern boomerang shapes finished in black lacquer. The round shaped seating tilts backwards wh...Category
20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMohair
- Mario Bellini Le Bambole Lounge Chair, B&B Italia, 1970sBy B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in London, GBA beautiful Mario Bellini Le Bambole lounge chair, newly upholstered in a premium brown / grey 100% Alpaca fabric, produced by B&B Italia, Italy in the ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAlpaca
- Mario Bellini Le Bambole Lounge Chairs, B&B Italia, 1970sBy B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in London, GBA beautiful pair of Mario Bellini Le Bambole lounge chairs, newly upholstered in a premium brown / grey 100% Alpaca fabric, produced by B&B Italia...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsAlpaca
- Mario Bellini Le Bambole Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Pair, B&B ItaliaBy B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in Raleigh, NC1970s Mario Bellini Bambole set newly upholstered, B&B Italia. A classic from the Italian designer with neutral patterned upholstery. Listed as a four piece set, 2 chairs, 2 pouf...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery
- Mario Bellini Bambole lounge chair B&B Italia 1972By B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantIconic Bambole lounge chair and poof designed by Mario Bellini and manufactured by B&B Italia in 1972. The Le Bambole collection marked a breakthrough i...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé
- Early Mario Bellini Le Bambole Lounge Chair, Original Leather, C&B Italia, 1970sBy Mario Bellini, C&B ItaliaLocated in London, GBA rare first edition Mario Bellini Le Bambole lounge chair, in its original wonderfully patinated leather, produced by C&B Italia, Italy, in the early 1970s. Fast shipping worldwide....Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather
- Mario Bellini “Le Bambole” Chairs for B&B Italia, 1971, Set of 2By Mario Bellini, B&B ItaliaLocated in Lonigo, VenetoMario Bellini “Le Bambole” chairs for B&B Italia, brown leather and foam, Italy, 1971, set of two. The search for a new shape for up...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Foam
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.
Rooms We Love: 11 Splendid Living Rooms
Common wisdom used to declare the kitchen the hub of the house. These days, the living room seems to have assumed the role of domestic focal point. Unlike the Victorian parlor, stiffly furnished and reserved for guests, today’s living room is a central place for reading, conversation and, well, living, with furnishings that lend themselves to both casual lounging and elegant entertaining.