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Gaetano Borsani for Atelier di Varedo Chest of Drawers in Walnut Burl and Walnut
$12,400
£9,291.51
€10,892.37
CA$17,366.11
A$19,464.44
CHF 10,189.90
MX$240,179.52
NOK 128,004.16
SEK 120,492.56
DKK 81,257.73
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About the Item
Gaetano Borsani for Atelier di Varedo - Gaetano Borsani, chest of drawers, walnut burl, brass, linoleum, Milan, Italy, 1930
An exceptional commode designed by Gaetano Borsani, founder of the Atelier di Varedo, the workshop where his son Osvaldo Borsani’s artistic path would begin to take shape. This piece exemplifies geometric purity and material sophistication of 1930s Italian design, with walnut burl playing a central role. At the time, this richly figured wood was considered a luxury material, often found in the interiors of affluent Italian homes. The walnut burl here has been expertly bookmatched, a technique that creates a kaleidoscopic effect across the surface. The mirrored grain patterns appear almost organic in form: symmetrical, fluid, and deeply sensual. Its overall structure gives off a slightly monumental presence; a composition of clean, rectilinear forms that communicate solidity and restraint. It is essentially a large, block-like volume broken into three vertical sections: a dominant central body with four drawers, which is subtly framed and slightly recessed, flanked by two narrower side compartments. The base is a low plinth with boxy feet that ground the cabinet visually, lifting it slightly from the floor but maintaining its sense of weight. The handles and round door knobs in brass are commanding accents that contrast elegantly with the organic fluidity of the walnut burl. The handles consist of stacked brass cylinders mounted vertically. This juxtaposition of elaborate surface and strict geometry reflects a distinctly 1930s Italian ethos: a commitment to refinement with an embrace of the modern and the natural.
The piece bears the signature: Atelier di Varedo Gaetano Borsani Varedo (Milano)
Biography
In the shifting design landscape of early 20th-century Lombardy, one small workshop rapidly rose to prominence: Atelier di Varedo, founded in 1923 (also known as Atelier Borsani Varedo). This family-run enterprise would, in the span of just over a decade, become a touchstone of the Italian modern movement – bridging craftsmanship, innovation, and artistic vision. The roots of the Borsani family ran deep in the world of furniture-making. Maria Galimberti and Gaetano Borsani both descended from families who had been working wood and crafting interiors since the early 1800s. It was this generational knowledge – this embedded culture of artigianato – that Gaetano built upon when, shortly after World War I, he struck out to form his own studio. By the mid-1920s, his workshop employed around twenty workers, a modest but serious operation focused initially on producing period furniture, still very much in line with postwar bourgeois tastes.
But the Borsani workshop would not remain tied to the past. Quite the opposite. The firm had begun to pivot toward more modernist idioms. Pieces would take cues from the expressive geometry and stylized forms of Art Deco, and increasingly, from the sinuous, ornamental elegance of German Jugendstil. On the other, there’s an underlying solidity, almost sculptural, that gestures toward Novecento aesthetics, with even traces of Futurist abstraction in the bold contours and crafted dynamism of certain works. This wasn’t just a surface-level stylistic update; it was a philosophical shift in how furniture could be conceived, produced, and lived with. The workshop's internal library, filled with cutting-edge European design journals, speaks volumes about their appetite for international influence.
Central to this transformation was Gino Maggioni, a young architect brought into the fold as what we might now call the company’s creative director. Gaetano Borsani entrusted him with the aesthetic reins of the business, and Maggioni – wide-eyed and ambitious – did not disappoint. Maggioni's intellectual trajectory was shaped in part by his presence at one of the 20th century’s most iconic architectural gatherings: the first Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM) in 1928 at the Château de la Sarraz. There, he encountered the likes of Le Corbusier, Gerrit Rietveld, Alberto Sartoris, and Pierre Chareau – names synonymous with European modernism. This experience would prove formative, not just for Maggioni personally, but for the direction of Atelier di Varedo. Under his stewardship, the company rebranded – at least partially – to reflect his authorship. It became Atelier di Varedo – diretto dall’architetto Gino Maggioni, Mobili d’arte G. e Gaetano Borsani Varedo. That label, verbose as it may seem, marks a fascinating moment in Italian design history: the co-signature of the artisan and the architect, of making and thinking. This was not simply furniture production – it was an atelier in the fullest sense of the word. By the early 1930s, Maggioni’s tenure had ended, and the company shifted its name once again: Atelier di Varedo, Gaetano Borsani Varedo (Milano), coinciding with the moment when Osvaldo Borsani began to take a more active role in shaping the future of his father’s enterprise.
Kindly note that the piece is in good, used condition with signs of age and use. For further details, we encourage you to reach out to our team of design specialists.
- Creator:Gaetano Borsani (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 37.41 in (95 cm)Width: 60.83 in (154.5 cm)Depth: 22.05 in (56 cm)
- Style:Art Deco (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Every item Morentz offers is checked by our team of 30 craftspeople in our in-house workshop. Special restoration or reupholstery requests can be done. Check ‘About the item’ or ask our design specialists for detailed information on the condition.
- Seller Location:Waalwijk, NL
- Reference Number:Seller: 501171571stDibs: LU933145538722
About the Seller
4.9
Established in 2006, Morentz has a team of approximately 55 restorers, upholsterers, interior advisers and art historians, making it a gallery, workshop and upholstery studio, all in one. Every day, a carefully selected array of 20th-century furniture arrives from all over the world at the firm’s warehouse, where the team thoroughly examines each piece to determine what, if any, work needs to be done. Whether that means new upholstery or a complete restoration, Morentz's aim is always to honor the designer’s intention while fulfilling the wishes of the client. The team is up to any challenge, from restoring a single piece to its original glory to furnishing a large-scale hotel project.
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About Osvaldo Borsani
Osvaldo Borsani (born 1911, Varedo, Italy–died 1985, Milano, Italy) was an Italian designer and architect, born into a family of furniture makers with along and well established artisanal tradition. His father, Gaetano Borsani, owned his own furniture shop, the Atelier di Varedo, where the 16-year-old Osvaldo received his first training. At that time, the designer of the atelier was the architect Gino Maggioni, who brought with him influences of the early 20th century Jugendstil movement from Vienna and who instilled in the young Borsani an appreciation for the arts and crafts and furniture making. Osvaldo Borsani first studied fine arts at Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, graduating in 1931, and then pursued studies in architecture at Politecnico di Milano, where he graduated in 1936.
In 1933, two years before graduating as an architect, Borsani designed the Casa Minima project for the V Triennale di Milano (Milan Triennial), along with architects Cairoli and Varisco. This project earned him a silver medal for its Rationalist code and geometries, and he received positive reviews from the critic Edoardo Persico of Casabella magazine.
Villa Borsani And Other Prominent Architectural Work
In 1937, Osvaldo Borsani designed Villa Presenti in Forte dei Marmi, a sea town in Tuscany where the Italian aristocracy and industrial elite would build their houses, a project that displayed the same rationalistic rigor displayed in Casa Minima, but softened by the use of mediterranean finishes and materials.
Villa Borsani designed by Osvaldo Borsani. Varedo, Italy
Villa Borsani. Varedo, Italy
In 1943, Osvaldo designed and built his own house, the Villa Borsani, in Varedo, which, despite being conceptualized under strict Rationalist principles, incorporated objects and art of younger artists that communicate a freer approach to the human expression. The Villa Borsani project involved artists such as Adriano Spilimbergo, Fausto Melotti, Lucio Fontana (who made the ceramic fireplace and the ceramic Madonna), and Agenore Fabbri (who made the bronze statue in the staircase). To this day, Villa Borsani has been preserved with most of its original furniture and it remains with Osvaldo Borsani’s family along with the extensive archives of his work.
Osvaldo Borsani As a Successful Product and Furniture Designer
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