Osvaldo Borsani Coffee Tables in Wood and Blue Mirror
View Similar Items
Osvaldo Borsani Coffee Tables in Wood and Blue Mirror
About the Item
- Creator:Osvaldo Borsani (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. The pair is in good condition, the glass has no defects. The wood has scratches and slight wear due to its age, but this is what denotes their originality.
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4911232888172
Osvaldo Borsani
With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests.
But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
More From This Seller
View AllVintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Steel, Iron
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
Vintage 1950s American American Classical Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Carrara Marble, Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Marble, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Side Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble, Metal
Vintage 1940s Italian Other Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
