Writing Desk by Silvio Cavatorta in Solid Walnut and Glass, Italy, 1950's

This geometrical writing desk has a sleek symmetry. This is formed by two large, rectangular storage compartments, together with four smaller compartments above. In between the compa...

Sculptural Italian dining table by Ariberto Colombo with a teak frame that has aged beautifully over time. The frame is held together b...

Paolo Buffa (1903-1970) architect, designer Paolo Buffa was the son of artist Giovanni Buffa, long-considered a modern innovator of early 20th centu...

Beautifully executed console by Ico Parisi in different sorts of wood, predominantly walnut. The shapes and proportions make this console really stand out from the rest. Its legs and...

‘Romantica’ Living room set by Piero Ranzani for Elam in dark Wood and Walnut, Italy, 1950’s What stands out are the straight lines of the...

Paolo Buffa (1903-1970) architect, designer Paolo Buffa was the son of artist Giovanni Buffa, long-considered a modern innovator of early 20th century applied arts. The elder Buffa was renowned for his studio works in stained glass, often collaborating with Eugenio Quarti and other important architects. After graduating in 1927 from Politecnico di Milano, Paolo began training in the studio of Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia. The following year he opened his own studio with the architect Cassi Ramelli, designing private villas and residential buildings with a strong focus on fine furniture done in the neoclassical style of the Milanese School and its luminaries: Ponti, Lancia, Buzzi, Marellin, and Albini. His designs (which included lighting and textiles) were characterized by perfect execution, for homes of the wealthy middle class with a taste for modern design, that blended functionality and comfort with quality materials. His pieces were primarily executed by the highly skilled artisans of the Mario Quarti studio in Milan, by Serafino Arrighi, and later by the Angelo Marelli workshop. In 1930 Buffa and Cassi Remelli participated in The International Exhibition of Decorative Arts,which would later become the Triennale di Milano. At this time he also began his first collaboration with Gio Ponti's Domus magazine, to which he would contribute many writings in the years to follow. The 1933 Triennale, "Mostra dell Arredamento," presented a solo exhibition on Buffa, as well as a group show that featured his textile designs alongside works by Buzzi, Albini, and Pollini in the display hall of the government institution National Crafts and Small Industries (ENAPI). By the time of his participation in the 1936 VI Triennale, Buffa was considered one of the elite arbiters of modern taste and style. The painter Roberto Aloi, director of “L’Arredamento Modern” (the Hoepli periodic review of modern design) dedicated more space to Buffa in his publication than to any other Italian architect in future editions. 1940 saw an intense collaboration with the acclaimed Mario Quarti furniture studio in Milan, in which Buffa created the furnishings for the Royal Palace of King Zog, in Tirana, Albania. In 1945 Ico Parisi organized the exhibition "Prima Mostra dell Arredamento" in Como. Together he and Buffa designed 12 environments, displayed as real rooms in a home. The following year the show travelled to Milan as “Mostra Mercato per la Reconstruzione” (Exhibition of Reconstruction). In addition to Buffa and Parisi, among the participants were Cassi Ramelli, Gio Ponti, and Guillermo Ulrich, all working under an objective to foster a profound collaboration between architect and expert craftsman. In 1947 Buffa was invited by esteemed textile designer Fede Cheti to participate in the exhibition “Lo Stile nell Arredamento Moderno” (The Style of Modern Furniture), celebrating the rebirth of quality execution and technical perfection in the reinvention of classic Italian furniture...

Silvio Cavatorta desk, mahogany, brass, Italy, design 1948-1949 Beautifully shaped desk in mahogany designed by Silvio Cavatorta in the late 1940s. The desk consists of a sleek top,...

A dark-brown, vintage Mid-Century Modern Italian pair of cabinet writing desks (his and hers) with a two door bases and shelving tops, designed by Silvio Cavatorta. The front writing...

Wooden Console by Silvio Cavatorta Material: walnut wood Dimensions: H 74 x 170 x 55 cm Year: c. 1950 Elegant and timeless 1950’s varnished walnut wooden console, by Silvio Cavator...

Elegant Italian desk in leather and walnut wood, classic and very linear design for a desk from the middle of the last century. Top of the desk all covered in light brown leather, w...

This writing desk in solid walnut was originally made as a gift for my daughter on her 13th birthday. I designed it to be elegant, simple and timeless; something that could fit seaml...

A superb rectangular organic modernist dining table by Silvio Cavatorta, with an inset glass top with a delicate internal ripple effect, resting in a two-tiered and sharply angled ma...