Hollywood Regency table by Renato Zevi for Banci Firenze, Italy, 1970s

Best known for his inimitable Ellipse rocking chair, Italian furniture designer Renato Zevi worked with gilded aluminum and brass, lacquered wood and mirrored glass to create sleek, sensual and glamorous pieces befitting the Hollywood Regency style.

Zevi designed extensively throughout the 1970s, drawing inspiration from the likes of Milo Baughman, one of the most adept American mid-century modern designers. Baughman’s relaxed and airy approach to design is reflected in many of Zevi’s pieces, such as sideboards, coffee and cocktail tables and dining room tables, which, like Baughman’s designs, feature sturdy chrome frames and polished lacquered wood veneers. 

Zevi’s most inventive designs included a lounge chair with an ottoman, a unique creation with oval, sculptural, polished chrome legs and a plush seat and backrest. Through his firm Zevi and C., he designed the Ellipse chair for the Selig furniture company. An American manufacturer and importer, Selig is known for being among the first to introduce European modern furniture to the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Versions of the popular Ellipse chair have been produced with tufted vinyl upholstery and soft, supple Italian leather. 

Zevi also collaborated with Italian furniture designer Romeo Rega, creating elegant bookcases and vitrines with gilt brass frames and smoked glass or crystal glass shelves. Rega’s company was acclaimed during the 1970s for its mass-produced console tables, chairs and other pieces until it ceased production in the 1980s.

Zevi’s work continues to be popular with Hollywood Regency decorators, collectors and design enthusiasts.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Renato Zevi case pieces and storage cabinets, tables, seating and more.

For more than a century, Italian manufacturer Banci Firenze has earned acclaim all over the world for its extensive range of innovative lighting and other furniture designs that draw on geometry, nature and modernist architecture.

Founded in 1899 by Giuseppe Banci, Banci Firenze began as a workshop in Florence that initially specialized in restoring glass, crystal and iron chandeliers. During the 1900s, the business evolved — Banci Firenze became a manufacturer of exquisite light fixtures from hand-blown glass, handmade gold leaf and wrought iron. 

Although the company is best known for their meticulously designed chandeliers, wall sconces, flush-mount ceiling lights and table lamps, Banci Firenze’s offerings eventually expanded to include other furnishings during the mid-20th century. Especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s were Banci Firenze’s collection of Hollywood Regency-style pieces, such as glass-topped side tables with gilt flower accents and bases. In the 1970s, dining room tables and cocktail tables characterized by mid-century modernist and Art Deco flourishes were among Banci Firenze’s most popular designs.

In the 1980s, Banci Firenze garnered attention for a unique storage piece designed by the Italian architect and designer Ugo La Pietra. Shaped like a staircase, the so-called “flag cabinet” featured brass drawers, silver-cast ball feet sculpted in brass and a brass flag on a pyramid-shaped top. The cabinet was presented at the Abitare il Tempo exhibition in Verona.

Today, Banci Firenze continues the tradition of designing widely coveted, high-quality lighting and furniture crafted with time-honored Italian techniques. 

On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage Banci Firenze lighting, tables and more furniture and collectibles.