Vanessa single bed by Tobia Scarpa, Simon by Cassina, 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Tobia Scarpa (Designer),Cassina (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.56 in (70 cm)Width: 80.71 in (205 cm)Depth: 35.44 in (90 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:unknown
- Condition:Minor fading.
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6835238045892
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.
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 Scarpa 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.)
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.
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 Tobia Scarpa table lamps, sofas, dining chairs and other furniture today on 1stDibs.
Cassina
Furniture manufacturer Cassina is a prolific design house for more reasons than one: It not only owns the licenses to an exquisite collection of iconic chairs, sofas, tables and other pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries but also produces original works that are characterized by innovation and the finest Italian craftsmanship.
Cassina’s illustrious legacy includes being one of the first companies to bring industrial design to Italy in the 1950s. Founded in 1927 in Meda, Italy, by brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina, the Italian manufacturing giant originally specialized in bespoke woodworking. In nearly a century since its founding, the company has shown incredible foresight about design trends and the evolution of technology.
In 1964, Cassina signed an exclusive licensing agreement to manufacture furniture by Le Corbusier and his collaborators — such as the LC4 chaise longue made with trailblazing French modernist Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret — a move that would shape the future of the company. Cassina’s I Maestri collection is an ongoing initiative to restyle landmark designs from the 20th century, such as pieces by Gerrit Rietveld (the Red and Blue armchair from 1918), Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Franco Albini and Frank Lloyd Wright. The company preserves the intentions and original styles of their designs but adds updated techniques, materials and processes — rendering them the best possible combination of past, present and future. The brand has also worked with contemporary icons like Zaha Hadid, Gio Ponti and Philippe Starck.
Cassina’s original designs are cutting-edge as well. They include pieces for everyday use, the development of which is guided by comfort and the marriage of Italian craftsmanship with industrial technology.
Some of Cassina’s pieces, both from its contemporary and I Maestri collections, can be found in the collections of museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Vitra Design Museum. In 2014, the company became part of Haworth in its acquisition of Italian furniture group Poltrona Frau, and in 2015, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola joined Cassina as its art director, leading the brand into its next century of inventive style.
Find a collection of new and vintage Cassina furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- "Sfera" chandelier, Tobia Scarpa, Flos, 1964 CircaBy Tobia ScarpaLocated in Milano, LombardiaThe "Sfera" chandelier, designed by Tobia Scarpa for Flos in 1964, encapsulates mid-century modern elegance. A timeless masterpiece, this luminaire showcases Scarpa's innovative visi...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsArt Glass
- 80's Interflex, Bed, Post-Modern StyleBy InterflexLocated in Milano, LombardiaBed designed in the 1980s by Giovanni Ronzoni for Interflex. The bed's jagged headboard colored with this bright blue clearly demonstrates its intent to belong to the colorful experi...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Adam Style Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMetal
- Pigreco chair, Tobia Scarpa, Gavina, 1957By Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Milano, LombardiaThe Pigreco Chair, designed by Tobia Scarpa for Gavina in 1957, is a masterpiece of Italian design. This chair, with its distinctive and innovative style, is a perfect example of the...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Mou dining table, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, MolteniBy Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Milano, LombardiaAfra and Tobia Scarpa's "Mou" table for Molteni is an icon of contemporary design that combines form and function in harmonious balance. Characterized by clean, minimalist lines, the...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
- set of 4 Monk chair, Afra & Tobia Scarpa, MolteniBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Molteni & CLocated in Milano, LombardiaMonk is all about the expressive quality of the materials: domestic walnut, natural ash, leather and raw canvas. The seat and back are made of leather or canvas, socked on two steel ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsTextile, Wood
- Monk chair, Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Molteni, 1969By Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Milano, LombardiaThe Monk Chair, designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Molteni in 1969, is an extraordinary example of Italian design. This iconic piece represents the perfect combination of function...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Chairs
MaterialsHide, Wood
- Vanessa metal bed by Tobia Scarpa for Gavina 70sBy Tobia Scarpa, GavinaLocated in Padova, ITBorn in Venice in 1935, Tobia Scarpa is the son of the famous architect Carlo Scarpa. Together with his wife Afra, Tobia began working in the Venini glass factory in Murano in the 19...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMetal
- Artona bed in walnut by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto, Italy 1970sBy Maxalto, Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Tobia ScarpaLocated in Argelato, BOArtona bed in walnut and leather designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for the Maxalto company, Italy, 1970s The Artona line by Afra and Tobia Scarpa was the fir...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- "Vanessa" Steel Single Bed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Gavina, Italy, 1950sBy Afra & Tobia Scarpa, GavinaLocated in Milan, IT"Vanessa" single bed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Gavina.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsSteel
- 20th Century Tobia Scarpa for Gavina Daybed mod. VanessaBy Tobia Scarpa, GavinaLocated in Turin, TurinTobia Scarpa is an Italian designer and architect. He is known for his furniture design that melds cutting-edge technology, ergonomic function, and cultural history. After graduating...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsSteel
- Artona Double bed by Afra e Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto 1970sBy Maxalto, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Padova, ITThe Artona line by the Scarpa duo was the first line ever produced by Maxalto, the specialist division of B&B Italia. This well designed bed convinces visually trough its syabile c...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bedroom Sets
MaterialsLeather, Walnut
- Mid-Century Modern Vanessa Bed by Tobia Scarpa for Gavina, Italy, 1950sBy Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Brussels, BEMid-Century Modern Vanessa Bed by Tobia Scarpa for Gavina ,Italy, 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Beds and Bed Frames
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Billy Cotton Layers His Interiors with Lived-In Comfort
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.