Franco Albini For Bonacina Italian Vintage Stool In Bamboo And “Midollino”

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Franco Albini For Bonacina Italian Vintage Stool In Bamboo And “Midollino”

About the Item

We kindly suggest that you read the whole description, as with it we try to give you detailed technical and historical information to guarantee the authenticity of our objects. Iconic and distinctive bamboo stool; it is characterized by the wide and comfortable round seat from which four solid legs slightly curved outward depart to give more stability to the stool; both the seat and the legs are made of sturdy heat-formed bamboo, while all the strong bindings are made of wicker. The whole form has a light and airy appearance. It was designed in the modernist style by the famous Italian designer Franco Albini and made between 1960 and 1965 with extraordinary craftsmanship by Ditta Bonacina of Lurago d'Erba (Como, Italy). Franco Albini (Oct. 17, 1905-Nov. 1, 1977) was an Italian architect, designer, and university professor of neo-rationalist design. A young student of Gio Ponti, Albini became from the early 1930s one of the key figures of Italian Rationalism, of which, however, he gave an eclectic interpretation in many ways. It was on the basis of these convictions that in the postwar period he approached the world of woven fibers, forging, in 1951, a close relationship with the workshop of Vittorio Bonacina, a firm founded in 1889 by Giovanni Bonacina, Vittorio's father, who, exploiting the art of the ancient craft of basket weaving, founded his company, soon expanding its production with armchairs, lounges, and furniture elements, specializing with materials such as bamboo, rattan and “midollino”. The outcome of this collaboration culminates in the bamboo and rattan furniture presented at the IX Triennale in 1951, The material, traditional and poor, is tackled for the first time with a spirit of research and avant-garde, resulting in some masterpieces that have left an indelible mark of Franco Albini and Bonacina in the history of design. Other prestigious Italian companies, such as Cassina, Artflex, Poggi, Arteluce, Brionvega, and Knoll, have availed themselves of the active collaboration of Albini, who was awarded the Compasso d'Oro, the most prestigious Italian design award, three times. The tradition of such furniture originated in the United States in the late 19th century. The fashion soon spread to Europe and Italy, both in the Brianza area and in the Po Valley and Tuscany. From being an eminently poor material, it found itself filling the role of luxury detail in contemporary designs, bringing with it the added value of dozens of hours of manual workmanship carried out by a dying class of skilled craftsmen. The term bamboo (or bamboo) identifies a group of very vigorous evergreen herbaceous plants that grow in a tropical or very humid climate; all bamboo species have as a common characteristic the very tall hollow stem that is easily worked and is quite rigid. It is used for the production of furniture, chairs, deckchairs, sofas, but also household items, and even parquets and flooring. Bamboo is a symbol of endurance: it is valued for its ability to withstand storms without breaking, thanks to its flexible, hollow stem and extraordinarily strong roots. It is a symbol of purity, steadfastness, and other virtues. The “midollino” is the innermost part of the rattan cane that is broken down into very thin strips; therefore, it is the most valuable and refined part of the guinea cane and for this reason, it is also the most delicate. Rattan is made from the Indian cane, nicknamed India Rattan or Rattan cane, which when left to dry in the sun at the edge of forests takes on extraordinary strength and durability qualities. In the outdoor finishing industry, it is processed with or without bark. There is also wicker (vimini), a material made by weaving branches of willow or other plants. The elasticity and strength of willow wicker made it, since time immemorial, ideal for the manufacture of baskets and baskets; bulrush, a small perennial plant found in marshy or maritime areas, is also used for these processes. Our stool can be supplied on request by Mongolian leather for cushion use (see photo). The item is in good condition. Measurements diameter cm.42, height cm.40. For all our shipments we use special packing materials (wooden crates, styrofoam, etc.) for maximum protection and safety of the items.

Creator:
Franco Albini (Designer),Bonacina 1889 (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)Diameter: 16.54 in (42 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
Style:
Minimalist (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bamboo,Hand-Crafted
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1960-1965
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. The item is in good condition.
Seller Location:
Prato, IT
Reference Number:
Seller: 133991stDibs: LU4632236175542

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Franco Albini

While working under the polymath Gio Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian modernism — furniture designer Franco Albini nurtured a love for modern forms combined with traditional craft techniques.

Albini is widely known for working with organic materials such as rattan and cane for his chairs and other seating, but he also played a pivotal role in the Italian rationalist movement of the early 20th century, which saw architects and furniture makers applying a strict emphasis on geometry in their work. Rationalists drew on Ancient Roman architecture but rejected ornament, much in the way that Le Corbusier and celebrated Bauhaus figures such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe had in their modernist furniture.

Albini received his degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1929, and, in 1931, he founded his practice in Milan, where he tackled workers’ housing and other reconstruction projects. A gifted urban planner, he also developed the Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso and Tesoro di San Lorenzo museums in Genoa. While Albini is revered for his Margherita chair — a Triennale Milano award winner created for Bonacina in 1951 — he also collaborated with manufacturers Poggi and Cassina in the 1940s on seating, tables and more that embodied his artistic vision. Of that mid-century work, the one piece that perhaps best captures this vision is the iconic Luisa chair.

With its cherry red upholstery and sinuous wooden legs that seem to float aboveground, the Luisa is a genuine masterpiece. It is also a testament to Albini’s perfectionism, as it endured several prototypes — including one made by Knoll in the late 1940s — and took approximately 15 years to design. Poggi launched the final version of the armchair in 1955, earning Albini the prestigious Compasso d’Oro from Italy’s Association for Industrial Design. It is produced today by Cassina. Albini named the chair for someone who likely saw the process firsthand: his personal secretary of two decades, Luisa Colombini.

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