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Chinoiserie Cabinet by Giambattista Gianotti, Unique piece

About the Item

Rare chinoiserie cabinet with polychrome decorations made in Giambattista Gianotti's Officine Riunite d'Arte Decorativa (Room 116) for the II Biennial - Lombard Section - Room with Furniture and Stained Glass Windows of the Officine Riunite d'Arte Decorativa. Unique Exemplar. The extraordinary piece of furniture is dated 1925. The piece of furniture is an extraordinary example of great cabinet making and woodworking. In fact, these special features are denoted by the manic inlays inserted in the cabinet. The inlays are perfect even in its smallest elements. Its depictions are mainly ornaments and floral elements. These inlays are found on the crown of the cabinet, on the sides, and on the legs. The cabinet opens via two lockable doors. Inside we find great magic! We are greeted by numerous walnut wood drawers of various sizes that can be opened with wooden knobs. Each wooden door is finely carved with ornaments and natural elements such as flowers and birds. The two main doors inside are also finely carved. Let's call it a chinoiserie piece of furniture because of this element that contradicts it: the numerous cabinets inserted inside, where opening this piece of furniture looks like opening a secret chest! We could talk at length about this magnificent specimen, but its images are worth a thousand words. Extremely extraordinary, elegant and extremely rare. Bibliography Fine Arts: THESAURUS [1/2] Descriptor: decorative arts Thesaurus type: Triennial Archive Thesaurus Compilation: Redaelli E. (2016)

Creator:

Serafino Arrighi (Manufacturer),Paolo Buffa (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 71.66 in (182 cm)Width: 42.52 in (108 cm)Depth: 18.9 in (48 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

1920-1929

Date of Manufacture:

1925

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. In good condition!

Seller Location:

Milano, IT

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU4911232391632

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Shop All Paolo Buffa

Paolo Buffa

With a surname that loosely translates to a synonym for “bizarre” in Italian, Milanese designer and architect Paolo Buffa is best known for capturing the best of both old and new in his plush, enveloping lounge chairs and wingback chairs as well as his range of modern tables, each dazzling and provocative but built using classical techniques.

Purposely playful and airy, mid-century Italian interiors encouraged merriment and socializing. Buffa’s work was well suited to this, but unlike the postwar designers who established recognizable trademarks and signatures, his vintage furniture for Cassina and other firms — the sculptural side tables and case pieces of walnut and solid oak, the luxurious sheepskin sofas — differed considerably from one design to the next, making them appealing to a range of interior decorators and socialites with specific taste. The son of a highly sought-after artist, Giovanni Buffa, Paolo graduated in 1927 from Politecnico di Milano. He then spent time working under architects and designers Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia. Ponti, who himself crafted thousands of furnishings and endlessly creative rooms, was so taken with the young designer that in 1928 he featured his simple and elegant rosewood dressing table in his new magazine, Domus.

After opening a firm with his regular collaborator Antonio Cassi Ramelli, Buffa became one of the leading tastemakers of Italian mid-century modern furnishings, designing for villas and residential buildings across the country. His style was a mix of Art Deco, Rationalism, neoclassicism and a bit of whimsy. He used high-quality materials and regularly worked with local ateliers known for their fine craftsmanship to produce his designs, such as Serafino Arrighi and Marelli & Colico. In 1940, he partnered with the Mario Quarti furniture studio on the royal palace of Albania’s King Zog, with Buffa designing the furniture, and in 1951, Egypt’s King Farouk enlisted him to redecorate his yacht.

While Buffa’s transcendent pieces are now collector’s items, there are a few still in production, such as those he made with Angelo Marelli. His eponymous firm, the Italian furniture producer Eredi Marelli, still manufactures some designs based on Buffa’s archives.

Find a collection of vintage Paolo Buffa furniture today on 1stDibs.