Paolo Buffa Rosewood Sideboard, Four Doors Inner Drawers and Shelves, 1940s

Wooden sideboard with three storage units (two larger and one small) and three frontal drawers with a structure entirely realized in wood and brass details (keys and feet). Manufac...

Large sideboard is entirely realized in oak wood, with four drawers on each side (for a total of eight drawers) and a central storage unit. Designed by Pier Luigi Colli Italian Manufacture from 1938 ca. To reconstruct the story of Pier Luigi Colli, we must take a leap back to the 19th century in Turin, a multifaceted city, in some ways controversial due to its austere and sometimes introverted character, but at the core of a creative drive: and if it is primarily known for its automobile industry, there was a time when Turin was at the height of fame also in the field of furniture and embroidery, thanks to the presence of two entrepreneurial realities. On the one hand there was the MIRAM (Italian Hand-Made Embroidery Manufacture) founded by Pietro Colli in 1850, specializing in gobelin fabrics and bandera embroideries. His daughter Teresa traveled between Italy and Paris to discover the latest trends in fabrics and embroidery, while her younger brother, Pier Luigi Colli (1895-1968), the star of this story, joined the company in 1921. Distinguishing himself for his enterprising personality and willing to continue his father's profession, Pier Luigi was known to his contemporaries as "the artist interior designer", and had no doubts about his future: he moved temporarily to Paris, where he attended L'Ecole des Beaux Arts Décoratives. The other great Turin manufacturer to be mentioned is Martinotti, founded in 1931 by Giuseppe Martinotti and supplier of fine furnishings for the Savoy court, pieces which were characterized by a typically 19th century eclectic style, generally made of exotic woods featuring ivory and tortoiseshell inlays: at that time, Martinotti represented the top of internationality, having even participated in the 1875 Philadelphia exhibition! The two brands' fate merged in 1902, a decisive year for Turin which, hosting the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art, became the cradle of the spread of the Liberty style in Italy. In the exhibition, Martinotti exhibited an elegant interior, in which all the textile parts, from the curtains to the seat upholstery, was made by Colli. It was in 1926 that Colli (MIRAM) finally acquired Martinotti, founding a laboratory where, from the savoir faire of the two companies, complete pieces of furniture were created and tailor-made for the customer, from the structure to its upholstery. Meanwhile, Pier Luigi Colli was living in Paris, the ideal place to be in 1925, when the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts brought him closer to the work of one of his putative fathers, the great French cabinet maker Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (Paris, 1879 - 1933). Thanks to Paris, Pier Luigi intertwined contacts with the international beau monde, he started to import Lalique glass from France, while the Colli's clientele expanded and special commissions arrived, such as the creation of the Royal Train of the Savoy family made with Fiat, or the lecture hall in the University of Turin. The success of a brand is also measured by its openness to establishing collaborations with the great designers of its time, in the case of Colli resulting in important creative partnerships: from Gio Ponti, who relied on the brand for his Richard Ginori project in Rome, up to Carlo Mollino, who created with Colli the handrails of the RAI (national TV) auditorium and the windows of the Teatro Regio in Turin; also in Turin, the Morbelli architects collaborated with Colli for the furnishings of the RAI skyscraper, and the architects Gabetti Isola for the interiors of the Stock Exchange in Turin. In the 40s and 50s, having opened a branch in Rome, Colli was at the peak of productivity. The embroidery and textile section continued to be one of its strengths, keeping alive the relations with France and its great masters: among the inspirations were the geometric shapes of the fabrics of Ruhlmann's interiors, or the tactile carpets made by designer Mariod Dorn. And so, another Colli trademark become the "textured carpet...

Chest of drawers model CS49 with four frontal drawers and four doors revealing inner shelves with structure in black lacquered wood and top upholstered with black skai or faux leather. Designed by Vico Magistretti and produced by Poggi in 1970s Ludovico Magistretti was born in Milan on 6 October 1920. He went to Parini High School and in autumn 1939 enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture at the Royal Polytechnic in Milan. After 8 September 1943, to avoid being deported to Germany, he left Italy during his military service and moved to Switzerland, where he took some academic courses at the Champ Universitaire Italien in Lausanne, taught at the local university. During his stay in the Swiss city he met Ernesto Nathan Rogers, the founder of the BBPR firm who had taken refuge in Switzerland after racist laws were passed in Italy. This was a key encounter in Magistretti’s intellectual and professional development, since the architect from Trieste turned out to be his maestro. He returned to Milan in 1945, where he graduated in Architecture at the Polytechnic on 2 August. He then immediately began his career working with the architect Paolo Chessa at the firm owned and run by his father, who died prematurely that same year. Here, in his father’s small firm, he spent his entire career in partnership with Franco Montella. During reconstruction operations in Milan from 1949-59, Magistretti designed and constructed about 14 projects for INA-Casa in conjunction with other architects. He was involved with Mario Tedeschi in the joint project for the QT8 neighbourhood, designing houses for veterans from the African campaign and also Santa Maria Nascente Church. In 1946 he participated in the R.I.M.A. exhibition (Italian Assembly for Furniture Exhibitions), held at the Palazzo dell’Arte, designing some small almost self-made pieces of furniture and then, in 1947 and 1948, he took part together with Castiglioni, Zanuso, Gardella, Albini and others in the exhibitions organized by Fede Cheti, a furniture fabric maker, held at her own workshop. The young architect was involved in plenty of activities and came up with lots of new ideas and proposals in the 1950s. Over the following years he also designed a number of other important projects, including the Towers in piazzale Aquileia (1961-64), Bassetti House in Azzate (1960-62), Cassina House in Carimate (1964-65), and the house in via Conservatorio in Milan (1963-66). In 1956 he was one of the founding members of the ADI, Industrial Design Association, and during the same year he was a member of the panel of judges for the Golden Compass Award for the first time. His work as an architect was almost totally focused on the issue of housing and living from the 1960s onwards, as he developed his own extremely expressive idiom, which, even though it was heavily criticised at times, made a real impression on the architectural scene in Lombardy during that period, making him one of its leading figures. This is the context in which he took part in the CIAM Congress (International Modern Architecture Congress) held in Otterlo in the Netherlands in 1959, during which the Italians presented Velasca Tower designed by the BBPR, the Olivetti canteen designed by Ignazio Gardella, Arosio house designed by Vico Magistretti (1956-59), and the houses in Matera designed by Giancarlo De Carli...

A mid-century sideboard with structure in walnut veneer with brass details, the sideboard presents three doors and six inner shelves. Designed by Emilio Lancia, Italian manufacture ...

Torbecchia sideboard is entirely realized in solid veneered walnut wood, with two frontal hinging doors (inner shelves), two drawers, and a storage unit under the openable top part. ...

Sheraton sideboard presents two sliding doors that slide outward to expose three inner storage units with glass shelves and four drawers on the central part. The sideboard has a str...

Large Italian sideboard attributed to 1950s designer Paolo buffa. The sideboard is made of various types of wood. The sideboard with four doors and three drawers in the center. The t...

Four-door sideboard in blackened oak veneer resting on two joined struts, woodwork in central doors, walnut-stained interior, nickel-plated brass keys. “Open pore” shellac finish. ...

This exceptional sideboard was produced by the company Serafino Arrighi in Cantù, Italy in the late 1940s. The design is attributed to Paolo Buffa, who worked with Serafino Arrighi f...

This exceptional counter-buffet / sideboard was designed by Paolo Buffa and produced by Mario Quarti in Milan, Italy, in the 1940s. The sideboard stands on four grooved, turned twis...

Gorgeous sideboard by Paolo Buffa - Italy, 1940's Walnut with wood inlay trim throughout with signature tapered legs and brass accents. Cabinet has 3 drawers on each side of drop dow...

We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely vintage Bradley burr yew wood sideboard. We have lightly restored this by cleaning it, waxing and hand polishing it. Please care...