CARLO MOLLINO (1905-1973)

The ‘Casa del Sole’, completed 1953-54 was conceived as a winter sports complex, and occupied a difficult mountain terrain near Cervinia, in the Italian Alps. To compliment his buildings, Mollino designed a series of furnishings of conspicuously rugged construction in order to withstand regular use, and stylistically were informed by Mollino’s earlier studies into Alpine, vernacular furniture and architecture. The chairs created for the apartments and for the Pavia Restaurant reveal the subtleties of Mollino’s own personalised references, for instance the gently hooked, horn-like aspects to the rear of the seats, and a distinctively bi-partite back, the symbolism of which, considering the architect’s interests, may be reasonably associated to reflect corset-like sensuality.

This lot is sold with a certificate of authenticity from The Museo Casa Mollino.

In total, around 150 chairs were originally produced, from which some estimates suggest that less than 50 now remain.