Model 121 Chairs by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy, 1960s, Set of 4

from 1963 to 1966 the architects Afra and Tobia Scarpa collaborated with the Italian company Cassina, designing a series of furniture characterized by the use of solid wood, the study of the joint, and the assembly of the parts with screws. Among these pieces of furniture are the 121 chairs (a model created in 1965) which is probably the most famous and the most desired by collectors and design lovers. The chair was made with various materials and finishes. The chairs for sale have the frame made of ashwood and the seat and back in black lacquered plywood.

Tobia Scarpa and his wife Afra Bianchin began their long career together in 1959, designing the Pigreco chair at Franco Albini’s decorating course. Both of them graduated from IUAV in Venice in 1969, and they worked together on dozens of famous projects, especially in furniture design, standing out as representatives of “architecture and design characterized by elegant, refined forms and choice of materials”. Without following the trends or passing fads, but “pursuing the ideal of a long-lasting, properly made product”, Afra and Tobia Scarpa participated in the establishment of the company Flos (1960), for which they went on to design several lamps (Fantasma, Biagio, Papillona, Pierrot). The pair worked on many important commissions (including B&B, Cassina, Fabbian, Gavina, Stildomus, Veas); their armchairs, chairs and sofas include the Coronado armchair (1966), with its innovative use of polyurethane. In addition to industrial products, the Scarpas made an essential contribution “to the new need to organize and represent the enterprises of Veneto and Lombardy”. Winners of the 1970 Compasso d’Oro award, they established a very important long-term partnership with Benetton of Treviso, planned the knitwear factory in Paderno (1964), the plants in Castrette di Villorba (1980 and 1993), and restored and conversion of Villa Spineda in Venegazzù (1999) as well as numerous shops (they also designed shops for C&B, Geox and Unifor). The Scarpas also worked on numerous restoration projects in Veneto, “striving to achieve a synthesis between ongoing experimentation with innovative solutions and in-depth knowledge of traditional building techniques”.