Items Similar to Italian Modern Rosewood Wall Unit/Bookcase by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini

Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini Large Bookcase in Teak

Gianfranco Frattini Rosewood Wall Unit for Bernini, Italy, 1970s

Secretary by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini, 1960s

Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini Rosewood Modello 823 Bookshelf, 1960s

Gianfranco Frattini Rosewood Sideboard for Bernini

Midcentury Modern Wooden Desk by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini

Video Loading

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 22

Italian Modern Rosewood Wall Unit/Bookcase by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini

About the Item

Model 540 modular bookcase designed by Gianfranco Frattini for Bernini (ca. 1960s, Italy). Uncommon rosewood example composed of four vertical slatted-rails creating three bays including 14 shelves and one drop-down storage/bar cabinet with a removable shelf - all supported by adjustable, aluminum feet. The shelves and cabinet can be displayed in a number of configurations. There are 17 slots for shelves that are vertically 3.88" inches apart (the lowest the distance between shelves can be is 3.88"). There are holes screwed through the rails in places, as shown, as once the ideal placement is decided, the bar cabinet needs to be screwed into place for stability. Very good, expertly refinished condition, though light wear remains (few spots where previous screw holes have been filled/light, general wear). H: 82" x L: 72.38" x D: 14" Shelves: L: 22.13" x D: 12" Cabinet: H: 21.13" x L: 22.25" x D (closed): 12" / D (closed including pull): 13" / D (door open): 31.5" Cabinet interior (discounting removable/adjustable shelf): H: 19.75" x L: 21.13" x D: 11.5" Cabinet shelf is 9.63" deep. Bibliography: Interni Rivista dell'arredamento n. 69 (ad in the listing is from this catalog). Italian Design, Gianfranco Frattini, edited by Pier Carlo Santini, Edizioni Biblioteca dell'immagine, p. 56. Italian Design, 1950/2000, Giuliana Gramigna, Allemandi, p. 83.

Creator:

Gianfranco Frattini (Designer),Bernini (Manufacturer)

Dimensions:

Height: 82 in (208.28 cm)Diameter: 72.38 in (183.85 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Aluminum,Metal,Rosewood

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

1960-1969

Date of Manufacture:

ca. 1960s

Condition:

Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Very good, expertly refinished condition, though light wear remains (few spots where previous screw holes have been filled/light, general wear).

Seller Location:

Brooklyn, NY

Reference Number:

Seller: SKU000045031stDibs: LU1444236673762

View Invoice

Shop All Gianfranco Frattini

Gianfranco Frattini

Gianfranco Frattini is widely regarded as a mid-century master of Italian modern design. He was an award-winning architect and designer, and specialized in creating furniture and decor that is both decorative and practical — Frattini’s vintage desks, armchairs, nesting tables and other works are celebrated for their sophisticated merging of function and form.

Born in Padua in 1926, Frattini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He later apprenticed with his teacher and mentor, Gio Ponti. Through Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian architecture and design — Frattini met many notable modernist designers such as Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier, but an introduction to famed Italian entrepreneur Cesare Cassina would prove incredibly significant in helping launch his career.

During the mid-1950s, Frattini began to collaborate with Cassina’s eponymous company. He designed the brand’s acclaimed leather and walnut Model 849 lounge chair — a winner of the Compasso d’Oro award — the Marema nesting tables and the iconic Sesann collection. The latter, an enduring 1970s suite of impossibly welcoming leather-covered seating, is now produced by Tacchini. In addition to Cassina, Frattini created furniture and lighting for other manufacturers such as Bernini, Arteluce, Artemide, Knoll and more.

While many of his designs incorporate glass, tubular steel and other materials, Frattini loved working with wood. The sculptural Albero bookcase — an innovative floor-to-ceiling structure made in walnut that swings on a 360-degree vertical swivel axis — is a striking example of Frattini’s dedication to traditional woodworking techniques. In the early 1970s, he traveled to Japan with friend and collaborator Pierluigi Ghianda — a master Milanese cabinet maker — in order to study the work of artisans in Kyoto. The trip inspired his design of the Kyoto table, a work of solid beech with Canaletto walnut inserts that is part of the permanent collection of the Milan Triennale’s Design Museum. The Kyoto and Albero have been revived by Poltrona Frau.

Frattini’s designs are in the permanent collections of prestigious museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Find vintage Gianfranco Frattini furniture, lighting and decor on 1stDibs.