Mario Bellini Sofa and Pouf Tribambola Red Canvas Lining "Le Bambole" by B&B
View Similar Items
Mario Bellini Sofa and Pouf Tribambola Red Canvas Lining "Le Bambole" by B&B
About the Item
- Creator:B&B Italia (Manufacturer),Mario Bellini (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 94.49 in (240 cm)Depth: 33.47 in (85 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Puglia, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4426113744522
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.
- Space Age Italian Velvet Modular Sofa, 1970sLocated in Puglia, PugliaBeautiful two-seater sofa in Italian velvet from the 1970s Space Age period. The Italian sofa is made of dark orange textured velvet fabric. Its lines are very rounded with soft and...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Sectional Sofas
MaterialsVelvet
- Attributed Gio Ponti Midcentury Rare Velvet Curved Sofa "Casa E Giardino", 1950By Casa e Giardino, Gio PontiLocated in Puglia, PugliaA rare sofa attributed Gio Ponti for Casa e Giardino from the 1950s, curved three-seater sofa. The sofa was reupholstered more than twenty years ago but the velvet is worn and I reco...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsVelvet, Beech
- Vintage Italian Velvet Five Modular Armchairs and Coffee Table, 1970sLocated in Puglia, PugliaBeautiful velvet modular sofa, consisting of 5 armchairs and a coffee table. The coffee table has a smoked mirror as a top. The Italian sofa is in...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet
- Mid-Century Modern Italian Walnut and Fabric Country Sofa by Pizzetti Roma, 70sBy Mobili PizzettiLocated in Puglia, PugliaCountry style sofa in Scottish fabric, Italian production Industria Della Poltrona Pizzetti Roma. In good condition, as shown in the photos.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
$1,494 Sale Price20% Off - Mario Bellini Italian Carrara Marble Oval Dining Table for Cassina, 70sBy Mario Bellini, CassinaLocated in Puglia, Puglia'Il Colonnato' oval dining table in white Carrara marble with evident gray veins by Mario Bellini for Cassina. The table features an...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
$23,731 Sale Price20% Off - Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi Midcentury Italian Chiavari Sofa and 2 Armchairs 1950sBy Giuseppe Gaetano DescalziLocated in Puglia, PugliaThis set of typical Chiavari chairs and a sofa with armrests was designed by Gaetano Descalzi in the city of Chiavari in Italy, where they have been produced since then in various mo...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsSatin, Beech
$4,350 Sale Price / set20% Off
- Le Bambole Sofa by Mario BelliniBy Mario Bellini, B&B ItaliaLocated in Lejre, DKGreat looking sofa in black leather. Designed Mario Bellini and made by B&B Italia. The sofa been cleaned, waxed and is from a non-smoker home. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- Le Bambole sand color Sectional Sofa by Mario Bellni for B&B Italia, 1970sBy Mario Bellini, B&B ItaliaLocated in amstelveen, NLLe Bambole sectional 7-seater sofa by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia, 1970s. The Bambole is an iconic piece of Italian design. It was awarded the 1979 'Compasso d'Oro' award. An exampl...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsBouclé
- ''Le Bambole'' sofa by Mario Bellini for C&B/B&B Italia, 1970s, set of 5By B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in Quarrata, ITModular sofa model ''Le Bambole'' by Mario Bellini for C&B Italia, B&B Italia, 1970s. Composed of 5 elements of which two corner elements can form different compositions.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Sectional Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Rubber
- Mario Bellini, Le Bambole, Sofa, B&B Italia, 1970sBy B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in Milano, LombardiaIntroducing the Le Bambole sofa by renowned designer Mario Bellini, upholstered in luxurious bouclé fabric, an exquisite addition to elevate any interior space. With its sleek lines ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsBouclé
- Mario Bellini Le Bambole Modular Sofa, Upholstered in Alpaca, B&B Italia, 1970sBy B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in London, GBA beautiful Mario Bellini Le Bambole four piece modular sofa / chair set, produced by B&B Italia, Italy in the 1970s, newly upholstered in luxurious 100% alpaca. Marked on the unders...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsAlpaca
- Mario Bellini Le Bambole Modular Sofa, Upholstered in Alpaca, B&B Italia, 1970sBy B&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in London, GBA Mario Bellini Le Bambole five piece modular sofa / chair set, produced by B&B Italia, Italy in the 1970s, newly upholstered in luxurious 100% alpaca. The pieces without arms each...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
MaterialsAlpaca
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.