Outdoor or Porch Chairs Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy, circa 1975
View Similar Items
Outdoor or Porch Chairs Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy, circa 1975
About the Item
- Creator:Afra & Tobia Scarpa (Designer),B&B Italia (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.1 in (73.92 cm)Width: 37 in (93.98 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Seat Height: 16.2 in (41.15 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1975
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. They are in good vintage condition with no major flaws and ready to use. We cleaned the fabric and cleaned and oiled the rattan.
- Seller Location:Vienna, AT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU993519917382
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.
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.
- Coffee Table for Outdoor or Porch Smania, Italy, circa 1975By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Smania, B&B ItaliaLocated in Vienna, ATVersatile rattan outdoor or coffee table for Smania Italy, circa 1975 Dimensions are 33" x 33" x 20.5". Stylish table in very good original condition made from rattan, glass and br...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Nigritella Pendant Lamp by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Flos, circa 1965By Flos, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Vienna, ATNigritella pendant lamp by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Flos, Italy Fixture produced in the 1960s by Flos by Afra and Tobia Scarpa. White painted metal shade with and oplal glass scree...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsOpaline Glass
- Velvet Chairs Black with Brass Skid Base, Italy circa 1955By Ico Parisi, Marco ZanusoLocated in Vienna, ATNice pair of Italian armchairs, newly upholstered in velvet, circa 1955 Stylish club chairs, very comfortable and upholstered in dark grey and black ve...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Brass
- George Nelson Pair Chairs for Herman Miller, Oversized, Velvet, circa 1965By Herman Miller, George NelsonLocated in Vienna, ATRare pair George Nelson chairs for Herman Miller, circa 1965 Stylish oversized chairs in petrol velvet with brushed steel feet. They are in good original condition with no major flaws and ready to use. Labelled at the bottom. Main focus of these chairs certainly lies on the very desirable and scarce size of 37" x 37" and 27" height. They are very elegant yet comfortable. Will ship crated...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Marco Zanuso 'Square' Black Velvet Chairs with Teak Feet, Italy, circa 1955By Marco ZanusoLocated in Vienna, ATMarco Zanuso 'Square' black velvet chairs with, Italy circa 1955 Very stylish club chairs in amazing condition, very comfortable and upholstered in bla...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Joe DiMaggio Baseball Glove Chair by de Pas, D'urbino, Lomazzi Italy, circa 1980By Paolo Lomazzi, Depas E D'urbino, PoltronovaLocated in Vienna, ATBaseball glove lounge chair designed by Jonathan de Pas, Donato D'urbino and Paolo Lomazzi for Poltronova, 1980 edition in red ultra suede Measures: 71" x 46" x 36" - seat height i...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Soriana Chairs by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Original Fabric, Italy, 1970sBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in London, GBA superb pair of original Soriana chairs, designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa and produced by Cassina in the 1970s. These examples are a rare find indeed - all in great condition with or...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa "925" Easy Chair for Cassina, 1966By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Lonigo, VenetoAfra & Tobia Scarpa "925" easy chair for Cassina, plywood and red leather, Italy, 1966. In 1966 Afra & Tobia Scarpa designed the "925" chair, realized in walnut and leather. The low chair is inspired by a sketch made in 1943...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Plywood
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa "925" Easy Chair for Cassina, 1966By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Lonigo, VenetoAfra & Tobia Scarpa "925" easy chair for Cassina, plywood and black leather, Italy, 1966. In 1966 Afra & Tobia Scarpa designed the "925" chair, realized in walnut and leather. The armchair is inspired by a sketch made in 1943...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Plywood
- "Dialogo" Brown Chair by Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy, 70sBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, B&B ItaliaLocated in Sacile, PN"Dialogo" brown fiberglass and pale wood chair by Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy 70s The ‘Dialogo’ chair was designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa in the 1970s and convinces with its tw...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass, Wood
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa "925" Easy Chairs for Cassina, 1966, Set of 2By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Lonigo, VenetoAfra & Tobia Scarpa "925" easy chairs for Cassina, plywood and black leather, Italy, 1966, set of two. In 1966 Afra & Tobia Scarpa designed the "925" chair, realized in walnut and l...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Plywood
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa "925" Easy Chairs for Cassina, 1966, Set of 2By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Lonigo, VenetoAfra & Tobia Scarpa "925" easy chairs for Cassina, plywood and red leather, Italy, 1966, set of two. In 1966 Afra & Tobia Scarpa designed the "925" chair, realized in walnut and leather. The low chair is inspired by a sketch made in 1943...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Plywood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
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.
Vincent Van Duysen Imbues Minimalism with Warmth
The Antwerp-based designer lends his unique touch to homes, boutiques and offices in Belgium, the United States and Germany, as well as furniture for B&B Italia and Molteni.