Italian Masterworks 
13 December 2012
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 1 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 2 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 3 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 4 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 5 of 5
Italian Masterworks 
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 1 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 2 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 3 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 4 of 5
Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro, bed - Image 5 of 5
126

Osvaldo Borsani and Arnaldo Pomodoro

bed

Tecno
Italy, c. 1960
fire-enameled brass, brass, enameled steel 49½ h × 74 w × 82 d in (126 × 188 × 208 cm)
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $53,750
follow artist
own a similar item?
free evaluation

provenance: Collection of Loris Manna, Milan
literature: L'Arredamento Moderno, Settima Serie, Aloi, pg. 295
Gio Ponti and his vision served as the inspiration for the important collection of Loris Manna, author of Gio Ponti, The Majolica. For an introduction to the collection, read One Collection, One History by Loris Manna.

print

Modern Decoration

Collaboration at Mid-Century

Osvaldo Borsani is one of the most important protagonists in the history of post-war Italian design. An entrepreneur, Borsani designed and manufactured modern objects that were technologically complex and made of materials of superior quality. Beginning in the late 1950s, Borsani collaborated with great artists such as Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Agenore Fabbri, Aligi Sassu and Arnaldo Pomodoro, to name a few, entrusting them to decorate components of his designs.


L'Arredamento Moderno, Settima Serie, Aloi

For this bed, Borsani invited the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro to work with his company, Tecno. Pomodoro created two versions of the bed, one entirely in bronze and one with enameled elements. This example is the latter, which is lighter in weight and also more colorfully versatile. Pomodoro stamped his cuneiform language on the headboard’s nine unique panels illustrating a sophisticated synthesis of poetic expression and functional design.
126