- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Italian Space Age Modular Chest of Drawers by Olaf von Bohr for Kartell, 1970s

About
Details
- CreatorKartell (Manufacturer),Olaf von Bohr (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 44.1 in. (112 cm)Width: 28.75 in. (73 cm)Depth: 13.19 in. (33.5 cm)
- StyleSpace Age (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacturecirca 1970s
- ConditionGood conditions. The corners have some scratches. The top floor is a slightly different color.
- Seller LocationMIlano, IT
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU4860229186842
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingShips From: Milan, Italy
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
About the Manufacturer
Kartell
The Italian design giant Kartell transformed plastic from the stuff of humble household goods into a staple of luxury design in the 1960s. Founded in Milan by Italian chemical engineer Giulio Castelli (1920–2006) and his wife Anna Ferrieri (1918–2006), Kartell began as an industrial design firm, producing useful items like ski racks for automobiles and laboratory equipment designed to replace breakable glass with sturdy plastic. Even as companies like Olivetti and Vespa were making Italian design popular in the 1950s, typewriters and scooters were relatively costly, and Castelli and Ferrieri wanted to provide Italian consumers with affordable, stylish goods.
They launched a housewares division of Kartell in 1953, making lighting fixtures and kitchen tools and accessories from colorful molded plastic. Consumers in the postwar era were initially skeptical of plastic goods, but their affordability and infinite range of styles and hues eventually won devotees. Tupperware parties in the United States made plastic storage containers ubiquitous in postwar homes, and Kartell’s ingenious designs for juicers, dustpans, and dish racks conquered Europe. Kartell designer Gino Colombini was responsible for many of these early products, and his design for the KS 1146 Bucket won the Compasso d’Oro prize in 1955.
Buoyed by its success in the home goods market, Kartell introduced its Habitat division in 1963. Designers Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper created the K1340 (later called the K 4999) children’s chair that year, and families enjoyed their bright colors and light weight, which made them easy for kids to pick up and move. In 1965, Joe Colombo (1924–78) created one of Kartell’s few pieces of non-plastic furniture, the 4801 chair, which sits low to the ground and comprised of just three curved pieces of plywood. (In 2012, Kartell reissued the chair in plastic.) Colombo followed up on the success of the 4801 with the iconic 4867 Universal Chair in 1967, which, like Verner Panton’s S chair, is made from a single piece of plastic. The colorful, stackable injection-molded chair was an instant classic. That same year, Kartell introduced Colombo’s KD27 table lamp. Ferrierei’s cylindrical 4966 Componibili storage module debuted in 1969.
Kartell achieved international recognition for its innovative work in 1972, when a landmark exhibition curated by Emilio Ambasz called “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” opened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. That show introduced American audiences to the work of designers such as Gaetano Pesce; Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis Group; and the firms Archizoom and Superstudio (both firms were among Italy's Radical design groups) — all of whom were using wit, humor and unorthodox materials to create a bracingly original interior aesthetic.
Castelli and Ferrieri sold Kartell to Claudio Luti, their son-in-law, in 1988, and since then, Luti has expanded the company’s roster of designers.
Kartell produced Ron Arad’s Bookworm wall shelf in 1994, and Philippe Starck’s La Marie chair in 1998. More recently, Kartell has collaborated with the Japanese collective Nendo, Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola and glass designer Tokujin Yoshioka, among many others. Kartell classics can be found in museums around the world, including MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In 1999, Claudio Luti established the Museo Kartell to tell the company’s story, through key objects from its innovative and colorful history.
Find vintage Kartell tables, seating, table lamps and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Italian Space Age Modular Chest of Drawers by Olaf von Bohr for Kartell, 1970sBy Kartell, Olaf von BohrLocated in MIlano, ITItalian space age modular chest of drawers by Olaf Von Bohr for Kartell, 1970s Modular cream and black plastic chest of drawers, with flap opening, usable as a shoe rack. Designed ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian Space Age Modular Chest of Drawers by Olaf von Bohr for Kartell, 1970sBy Olaf von Bohr, KartellLocated in MIlano, ITItalian space age modular chest of drawers by Olaf Von Bohr for Kartell, 1970s Modular white plastic chest of drawers, with flap opening, usable as a shoe rack. Designed by Olaf Vo...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian Space Age Chest of Drawers by Olaf von Bohr for Kartell, 1970sBy Olaf von BohrLocated in MIlano, ITModular yellow plastic chest of drawers, with hinged opening, usable as shoe rack. Designed by Olaf Von Bohr for Kartell, logo present on the individual pieces. 1970s. Good ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian Modern Modular Chest of Drawers/Shoe Rack, Olaf von Bohr, Kartell, 1970sBy Kartell, Olaf von BohrLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern modular chest of drawers or shoe rack by Olaf Von Bohr for Kartell, 1970s. Modular chest of drawers or shoe rack with rectangular base with rounded corners, in black ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Dressers
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian Modern Red Plastic Modular 4602 Chest of Drawers by Fussel Kartell 1970By Simon Fussel, KartellLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern pair of modular red plastic mod. 4602 chest of drawers on wheels by Simon Fussel for Kartell, 1970s. Modular piece of furniture with four drawers, mod. 4602, one of w...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian Midcentury Orange Plastic Chest of Drawers by Castelli for Kartell, 1970By Kartell, Anna Castelli FerrieriLocated in MIlano, ITItalian mid-century Orange plastic chest of drawers by Castelli for Kartell, 1970s Modular chest of drawers with a square base with rounded corners in orange plastic. The chest of d...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsPlastic
You May Also Like
Late 20th Century Italian Space Age Shelves
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
Plastic
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Acrylic
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass, Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Faux Leather, Wood, Lacquer
Vintage 1970s European Mid-Century Modern Desks
Steel
20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Bamboo, Wicker, Rattan
Vintage 1970s Czech Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Elm
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Elm
Recently Viewed
View MoreThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery