With his stylish and technically innovative furniture, Osvaldo Borsani helped change the face of Italian design in the 1950s and ’60s. His sofas and chairs, featuring deeply upholstered seating and adjustable position settings, have an aura of optimism and efficiency that still seems fresh and lively today.
Born in the commune of Varedo in northern Italy’s Lombardy region, Borsani studied at the Brera Academy in Milan — the same school attended by such luminaries as designer Piero Fornasetti and artist Lucio Fontana — as well as the Polytechnic University of Milan. Borsani first worked for his father’s furniture-making firm, Arredamenti Borsani, an atelier influenced by the more expressive and curvaceous wing of Art Deco design.
By 1953, when, along with his twin brother, Fulgenzio — the pair also created this visionary mid-century villa — Borsani opened the furniture company Tecno, his design sensibilities had evolved toward furnishings with strong, simple forms enhanced by mechanical innovations, as with the P40 adjustable armchair. Borsani would be the firm’s lead designer for 30 years, while fostering work by Vico Magistretti, Carlo De Carli, Robin Day and others.
Similar to Gio Ponti in the earliest years of his career, Borsani first created designs marked by lush and buoyant lines: tables with voluptuous curved legs, sofas with undulating backrests.
But Borsani’s best-known and most novel pieces date from Tecno’s initial furniture lines: the adjustable D70 sofa, which folds open to make a daybed, and the P40 recliner. The latter — now included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum — is an articulated lounger with a back, seat and leg rest that can be moved into 486 different positions. Not only is it extremely comfortable, it is also enduringly chic.
Find a collection of vintage Osvaldo Borsani tables, dining chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$18,323 / item
LT8 Floor Lamps by Osvaldo Borsani Tecno
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Rare and refined LT8 floor lamps designed by Osvaldo Borsani and introduced in 1953, a landmark model in the evolution of Italian modern lighting. Produced by Tecno, these lamps exem...
Metal, Brass
$1,880Sale Price|20% Off
LT8 Floor to Ceiling Lamp by Astep in White and Brass
By Osvaldo Borsani, Astep
Located in Rhinebeck, NY
LT8 / Floor Lamp by Osvaldo Borsani LT8 was conceived in 1954 for Borsani’s new bourn company Tecno, that would come to revolutionize the world of contract furniture, and presented...
Aluminum, Brass
Osvaldo Borsani pair of LT8 ceiling-to-floor neon lamps by Tecno, Italy, 1950s
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Chiavari, Liguria
Pair of ceiling-to-floor neon lamps in painted metal and brass, model It8, manufactured by Tecno and designed by Osvaldo Borsani, 1950s. These lamps connect ceiling and floor with a...
Metal, Brass
20th Century Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno LT8 Sky-Ground Lamp 1960 Brass and Neon
By Tecno, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Turin, Turin
Osvaldo Borsani in 1953, together with his brother Fulgenzio, realized his most complex project: a company idea named after the "techne" of the Greeks, which means both art and technique. Tecno thinking was born: the perfect synthesis between the artisan experience of the atelier and its declination on a larger scale. Tecno is first and foremost an entrepreneur's project: Italy has begun its process of tertiarization; the office environment does not yet have its unquestionable formal definition, and that is where Osvaldo Borsani wants to get to: to reinvent for workspaces that mix of formal elegance, rigor and rational functionality that the modern movement had developed for domestic living. Here the very wonderful sky-ground lamp...
Brass, Metal
$2,009Sale Price|25% Off
Arnaldo Pomodoro Bronze Sculpture for Borsani, Fixed on a Table Lamp, 1985-2021
By Arnaldo Pomodoro, Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Rome, IT
Arnaldo Pomodoro bronze sculpture "medaglia" for Tecno, bronze signed on verso "A Pomodoro" and inscribed " Osvaldo Borsani 1985 Atelier Stefano J...
Bronze
Model LT8 Floor Lamp by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Model LT8 floor lamp by Osvaldo Borsani. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1950s. Enameled metal, brass. Original European cord We recommend two Neon Fluorescent tubes. Bulbs...
Brass, Metal
An Important And Rare Chandelier By Osvaldo Borsani ca' 1940's Brass
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A rare and probably unique chandelier by Osvaldo Borsani with glass shades by Paolo Venini, ca' 1940's. Polished and lacquered brass. Large scale and very impressive in person embodi...
Brass
Atelier Borsani Varedo big chandelier from the 1940s
By Osvaldo Borsani, Arredamenti Borsani
Located in Vigevano, PV
Important chandelier from the 1940s produced by Arredamenti Borsani Varedo Lacquered wood, gilded carved wood with gold leaf, brass, cut crystal.
Brass
L78 Floor Lamp by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Milano, Lombardia
L78 floor lamp by Osvaldo Borsani, Italy, 1950s. Designed for the X edition of the Triennale di Milano. Lacquered metal, neon lights. Measures: 11 x 13 x H 215 cm. 4.3 x 5.1 x H 84....
Metal
$1,717 / item
H 19.69 in Dm 19.69 in
Gino Sarfatti Lamp Model 548 Polished Brass with Blue Difuser by Astep
By Astep, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Model 548 Design by Gino Sarfatti The table lamp designed in 1951 is a study in balance and light reflection through a screen, a recurring theme in Gino Sarfatti’s work. Model 548 ...
Metal
$7,764 / item
H 18.51 in Dm 15.75 in
'Cosmic Solstice Ore' Table Lamp, Handmade Bronze Patinated Brass Table Light
By Eva Menz for Atelier001
Located in London, England
Taking inspiration from planetary shapes and textures, the Cosmic collection artfully explores the interplay of metal properties and a curated selection of patina finishes. Handcra...
Brass
Floor lamp attributed to Osvaldo Borsani
By Arredamenti Borsani, Gino Sarfatti, Osvaldo Borsani, Guglielmo Ulrich, Gio Ponti
Located in Lugo, IT
Floor lamp attributed to Osvaldo Borsani. Dual ignition Good Condition Thank you
Brass
Pair of Delord & Garrault Floor to Ceiling Lamps
By Garrault-Delord
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Pair of rare "Sol au plafond" (floor to ceiling) lamps, made of different section of metal tubes holding an enlightnen plexi globe. Adjustable height ...
Metal, Chrome
Art Deco Table Lamp Sculpture
Located in Antwerp, BE
An Art Deco sculpture with three deer on a marble base. Measures: Width:43 cm. Depth:15 cm. Height:37 cm. Weight:10 kg.
Onyx, Marble
Ceramic and Glass Table Lamp Sculpture, France, circa 1900
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Ceramic and glass table lamp sculpture. France, circa 1900.
Glass, Ceramic
$873 / item
H 9.06 in W 3.94 in D 3.94 in
Particle Table Lamp by on.entropy, in Seamless White Marble and Bronze
By on entropy
Located in Athens, GR
In Particle table lamp, on.entropy mines the modern design potential of this classical material, by transforming the austerity of raw marble into a warm and...
Marble
$3,727 / set
H 68.9 in Dm 18.12 in
Pair of floor lamps attributed to Hans Bergström, by ASEA belysning. 1950s
By Hans Bergström, ASEA
Located in Hägersten, SE
Pair of floor lamps produced in Sweden by ASEA belysning. Made from solid brass and teak stems with a nice concave shape. New lamp shades in hand sewn chintz fabric with single pleat...
Aluminum, Brass
$10,366
H 53.15 in Dm 12.6 in
Sfumato Glass Floor Lamp Model "LT316" by Carlo Nason for Vetrerie Nason, 1960s
By Carlo Nason
Located in Brescia, Brescia
An iconic example of late-20th-century Murano glass design, this sculptural floor lamp model LT316 was designed by Carlo Nason for Mazzega/Vetrerie Nason and embodies the poetic bala...
Metal, Brass
Italian Floor Lamp, 1950s
Located in Palermo, PA
Italian floor lamp, 1950s. Dimensions: H=155 cm; D=40 cm.
Brass
Italian Brass Floor Lamp, 1950s
Located in Wolfurt, AT
Floor lamp from Italy, 1950s. The lamp is made of brass and has two opaline glass shades on a crystal glass base.
Crystal, Brass
$1,717 / item
H 19.69 in Dm 19.69 in
Gino Sarfatti Lamp Model 548 Burnished Brass with Orange Difuser for Astep
By Gino Sarfatti, Astep
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Model 548 Design by Gino Sarfatti The table lamp designed in 1951 is a study in balance and light reflection through a screen, a recurring theme in Gino Sarfatti’s work. Model 548 pr...
Metal
Chandelier by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Chandelier by Osvaldo Borsani. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1940s. Beautiful linear bentwood chandelier consisting of a dark stained wood ribbon construction, paired...
Opal, Brass
Pair of Wall Lights by Osvaldo Borsani for Arredamenti Borsani Varedo
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of Wall Lights by Osvaldo Borsani for Arredamenti Borsani Varedo. Manufactured in Italy, circa 1940’s for the Borsani Family Villa Varedo. Enameled metal, brass. Rewired for U.S...
Brass, Metal
Pair of Osvaldo Borsani Wall Lights
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in New York, NY
Pair of midcentury wall lights by Osvaldo Borsani. Each has a frosted glass shade on a dark bronze frame. Condition: Good vintage condition. Some discoloration and striations to the...
Floor Lamp LT8 by Osvaldo Borsani, Arredoluce, Italy, 1958
By Osvaldo Borsani, Arredoluce
Located in Berlin, DE
Floor lamp LT8 by Osvaldo Borsani, Arredoluce, Italy, 1958 for suspension between ceiling and floor.
Metal, Brass