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Post-Modern “Broomstick” Coffee Table by Vico Magistretti for Alias, 1980s

About the Item

This large coffee or center table was design by Italian architect Vico Magistretti. It belogs to the "Broomstick" series produced by Alias in early 1980s, and it's the table model "Gobi". Magistretti designed it in 1979 when he went to London to teach a class at the Royal College of Arts, and he had to furnish the apartment he was assigned. So he created a series of pieces that used a simple combination of pieces of an object of common use: the broom. The name of the series was suggested by his friend George Nelson. The series was produced for a short period of time, which makes its pieces hard to find. The table has a strong sculptural presence, with a bold black and white conrast, that is playful and bold at the same time. Provenance: stock found from a furniture shop in Bologna.

Creator:

Vico Magistretti (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)Width: 50.4 in (128 cm)Depth: 50.4 in (128 cm)

Style:

Post-Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Laminate,Walnut,Varnished

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

1980-1989

Date of Manufacture:

1980-1985

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. The piece is a stock fund from a furniture shop in Bologna, so it remains in very good vintage conditions with minimal wear.

Seller Location:

Koper, SI

Reference Number:

Seller: 78261stDibs: LU8892236845712

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Vico Magistretti

As one of the founding fathers of modern Italian design, prolific architect and industrial designer Ludovico Magistretti (known by his nickname Vico) was guided by his philosophy, “There is no excuse for bad design.” His architectural projects are widely revered, and an ingenious meld of form and function can be found in his stylish and deceptively simple table lamps, sofas, armchairs and other mid-century furnishings.

Born in Milan, Magistretti followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather (both architects) to study architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. At the outbreak of World War II, he fled to Switzerland, and it was there he met his role model and mentor, renowned humanist architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers. Magistretti was inspired by Rogers’s vision to revive postwar Italy, and they collaborated on several reconstruction projects. Among Magistretti’s first architectural designs is a “poetic” round church, which he created for the QT8, an experimental Milanese neighborhood.

When Magistretti returned to Milan in 1945, he worked at his father’s architectural firm. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that he expanded his talents into design while working with furniture artisans.

In the 1960s, Magistretti began his 30-year working relationship with famed entrepreneur Cesare Cassina of the Cassina furniture manufacturing company. In their design approach, the two men shared a vision of the relationship between modernity and tradition and enjoyed a close bond (Magistretti designed Cassina’s luxurious villa in 1965). However, their friendship was not without contention.

Legend has it that upon seeing the prototype for Magistretti’s Maralunga sofa, Cassina hated it so much that he punched it, breaking the back of the sofa, which crumpled into itself.

“Right, great, it looks perfect to me like that,” an unfazed Magistretti allegedly responded, and the Maralunga’s slumped, adjustable-height backrest was born. Incidentally, the Maralunga sofa won Italy’s Compasso d’Oro award as did his Eclisse lamp for Artemide and his Atollo lamp for Oluce.

Magistretti died in 2006, but his designs live on in galleries, museums and private residences and offices around the world.

Find a range of vintage Vico Magistretti furniture and lighting on 1stDibs.