Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia Rare 'Polygonon' Dining Table
About the Item
- Creator:B&B Italia (Manufacturer),Afra & Tobia Scarpa (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.15 in (71.5 cm)Width: 71.07 in (180.5 cm)Depth: 32.49 in (82.5 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1984
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Every item Morentz offers is checked by our team of 30 craftspeople in our in-house workshop. Special restoration or reupholstery requests can be done. Check ‘About the item’ or ask our design specialists for detailed information on the condition.
- Seller Location:Waalwijk, NL
- Reference Number:
Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Widely recognized as superstars of postmodern Italian design, husband-and-wife team Afra and Tobia Scarpa (1937–2011; b. 1935) collaboratively created chairs, sofas and other furniture that work equally well in both traditional and cutting-edge environments.
Ranging from architecture and interior design to furniture and clothing, the Scarpas’ practice from its beginnings in the mid-1950s to the 21st century has included a diverse scope of projects combining new technology with thoughtful function and sculptural yet simple forms.
Afra Bianchin and Tobia Scarpa met as architecture students at the Università Iuav di Venezia. In a class led by architect and furniture designer Franco Albini, they created their first collaborative piece, the Pigreco armchair, later produced with Gavina. After graduating in 1957, Tobia worked for Murano glass company Venini & Co. before the couple opened a studio in Afra’s hometown, Montebelluna, in 1960. (Tobia, the son of famed glass artist and architect Carlo Scarpa, was born in Venice.)
For Afra and Tobia, a close collaborative process was pivotal to the success of their designs. The duo was also prolific — they designed for the most influential European manufacturers, including B&B Italia, Cassina, Knoll and FLOS. With respect to the latter, Afra and Tobia were among the legendary Italian lighting maker’s earliest collaborators, and their pioneering designs for the brand included the Papillon lamp, one of the first fixtures to use halogen technology. Their most recognized designs include the Bastiano sofa (1962), the Vanessa bed (1959), the Coronado sofa (1966) and the Soriana seating collection (1970). Work on the Soriana sofa began in late 1969 for an early 1970 debut, and it feels as radical today as it did in its heyday.
Architecture was also a central part of Afra and Tobia’s practice, which spanned residential buildings and factories for Italian companies such as Benetton. Their commissions for the global fashion brand included numerous industrial projects, from textile plants to storefronts. By 1985, Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s work was celebrated in a 30-year retrospective at Center Four in Queens, New York. Looking around the 30,000-square-foot exhibition space, Afra joked to the New York Times, “Seeing all those things makes us feel very tired, and now we feel that maybe we worked too much.”
It was not too much for their legacy, as Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s work continues to inspire new generations. Scarpa designs are in collections at the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The couple was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1970 for the Soriana armchair.
Find vintage Afra & Tobia Scarpa lounge chairs, dining chairs, floor lamps and other furniture today on 1stDibs.
B&B Italia
In 1966, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli cofounded C&B Italia, a modern Italian furniture manufacturer, with Cesare Cassina in northern Milan. From the outset, Busnelli and Cassina set about recruiting the most talented modernists in Italy to conceive of creative furnishings manufactured in modern ways. In the early 1970s, the company split, with Cassina founding his own eponymous firm and Busnelli taking leadership of what became B&B Italia.
For decades, Busnelli cultivated relationships with the world’s best design talent, resulting in furniture pieces that remain iconic today — be they Gaetano Pesce’s outwardly curvaceous Up seating (made for C&B, reintroduced by B&B) or tables from industrial designer Paolo Piva, each more sophisticated than the next in their geometrically complex steel-tube bases. B&B Italia earned four prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards: in 1979 for Mario Bellini’s Le Bambole, in 1984 for the Sisamo wardrobe system by Studio Kairos, in 1987 for Antonio Citterio’s modular Sity sofa and, in 1989, the first award given to a manufacturing company itself.
Other notable names who designed for B&B Italia over the course of its 54-year history include Patricia Urquiola, Naoto Fukasawa, Zaha Hadid, Ettore Sottsass and Vincent Van Duysen, to name a very few. And while these names bring star power to the B&B brand, in many cases, it was B&B Italia who helped usher in their celebrity, fostering a wave of design talent on the world stage.
The company’s forward-thinking vision manifested in its own headquarters, too: In 1972, B&B Italia tapped architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers to design a steel-framed, postmodern-style home for the brand, whose crisscrossing metal exoskeleton is reminiscent of the pair’s Centre Pompidou in Paris, which was built at roughly the same time. Now, B&B Italia manages a contract division and outdoor section as well as its residential arm, and it also controls production for Maxalto, a brand spun out with furniture designs by Antonio Citterio.
At 1stDibs, find a range of vintage B&B Italia furniture — including sofas, cocktail tables and more.
Established in 2006, Morentz has a team of approximately 55 restorers, upholsterers, interior advisers and art historians, making it a gallery, workshop and upholstery studio, all in one. Every day, a carefully selected array of 20th-century furniture arrives from all over the world at the firm’s warehouse, where the team thoroughly examines each piece to determine what, if any, work needs to be done. Whether that means new upholstery or a complete restoration, Morentz's aim is always to honor the designer’s intention while fulfilling the wishes of the client. The team is up to any challenge, from restoring a single piece to its original glory to furnishing a large-scale hotel project.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Waalwijk, Netherlands
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 10 days of delivery.
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa 'Polygonon' Dining Table & Mario Bellini Dining ChairsBy Mario Bellini, B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Waalwijk, NLAfra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, dining table 'Polygonon', glass, electro-coated stainless steel, Italy, 1984 Behold this astonishing table with an aesthetically pleasing layout ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto 'Artona' Large Dining Table in WalnutBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, MaxaltoLocated in Waalwijk, NLAfra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto, 'Artona' dining table, walnut, walnut burl, lacquered wood, brass, ebony, Italy, 1975/1979 This table was designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa within th...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia 'Dialogo Dessau' Dining ChairsBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, B&B ItaliaLocated in Waalwijk, NLAfra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, 'Dialogo Dessau' dining chairs, chromed metal, plastic, Italy, 1974 The Dialogo Dessau chair, with its distinctiv...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia 'Dialogo Dessau' Dining ChairsBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, B&B ItaliaLocated in Waalwijk, NLAfra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, 'Dialogo Dessau' dining chairs, chromed metal, plastic, Italy, 1974 The Dialogo Dessau chair, with its distinctiv...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia 'Dialogo Dessau' Dining ChairsBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, B&B ItaliaLocated in Waalwijk, NLAfra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, 'Dialogo Dessau' dining chairs, chromed metal, plastic, Italy, 1974 The Dialogo Dessau chair, with its distinctiv...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Set of Six 'Dialogo' Dining ChairsBy B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Waalwijk, NLAfra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, set of six ‘Dialogo’ dining chairs, black lacquered wood, fiberglass, Italy, 1970s The ‘Dialogo’ dining c...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass, Wood
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia Rare Polygonon Dining Table Italy 1984By B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Catania, ITAfra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, 'Polygonon' model dining or meeting table, glass, electro-coated stainless steel, Italy, 1984 This stunning table designed by the Italian master ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Polygonon, Dining Table, B&B, 1984By B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Paris, FRAfra & Tobia Scarpa (1935-2011 & 1935-) « Polygonon » A dining table, the oval glass top rested on an octogonal metal base with an iridescent green and blue color. Manufacture...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Wood Dining Table, Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy 1980sBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Ceglie Messapica, ITVintage Wood Dining Table, Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy 1980s A rare design dining table designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassin...Category
Vintage 1980s European Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCherry
- TL59 Dining Table in Bronze & Glass by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Poggi, 1975By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, PoggiLocated in Antwerp, BETL59; dining table; round; bronze; glass; Smoked glass; Afra & Tobia Scarpa; Poggi; 1975; Italy; Italian Design; Post-Modern; This remarkable round dining table is designed by A...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBronze, Metal
- Afra e Tobia Scarpa Tobio dining table B&B Italia 1974By Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantIconinc 'Tobio' dining table designed by Afra e Tobia Scarpa and manufactured by B&B Italia. A true heritage piece that seamlessly blends timeless materials for a stunning aesthetic....Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble
- 'Tobio' Leather + Travertine Table by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, 1974By B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Chicago, ILA highly elegant ‘Tobio’ dining table by designers Afra e Tobia Scarpa and produced by B&B Italia, 1974. Featuring a leather clad base with a red Persian travertine top - a wonderful...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsTravertine
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
You Don’t Need a Fictional Fairy to Get This Real Pinocchio Lamp
Warm chalet style meets cool Bauhaus functionality in Pietro Cascella’s cleverly carved creation.
Morentz Writes the Next Chapter for Furniture with a Storied Past
Dutch dealer Matthijs Hoveijn specializes in the best of mid-century modern design, selling it to discerning clients around the world.