Design 
12 December 2013
Design 
327

Angelo Mangiarotti

custom modular sofa from the Bignardi Residence, Milan

Italy, 1951
mohair, enameled steel, brass 37½ h × 153 w × 67 d in (95 × 389 × 170 cm)
estimate: $15,000–20,000
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Comprised of six sections that can be variously arranged, this work is unique.
provenance: Bignardi Family, Milan | Private collection
literature: Domus, no, 269, April 1952, ppg. 46-49 illustrates sofa in situ Mobili e Interni, Domus, unpaginated, illustrates the Bignardi interior Angelo Mangiarotti: Il Processo del Costruire, Bona, unpaginated, discusses project Giorgio Casali, Photographer / Domus 1951-1983: Architecture, Design and Art, Maggi and Zannier, pg. 71 illustrates interior Il Mobile Italiano Degli Anni 40' e 50', de Gutty and Maino, pg. 199 discusses the commission

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Custom Modular Sofa

From the Bignardi Residence, Milan

Architect Angelo Mangiarotti completed the Bignardi Residence in the early 1950s. This unique sofa was custom made for this interior.

The project was widely documented and the following images from Domus, No. 269, April 1952 show this work in situ.




Family photo illustrating this sofa in situ.

Angelo Mangiarotti 1921–2012

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Italian architect and designer Angelo Mangiarotti was known for applying a personal and humanistic approach to functional design. Born in Milan in 1921, he earned a degree in architecture from Milan Politecnico in 1948. Mangiarotti was fascinated by the methods and techniques employed in city-planning and architecture in addition to a passion for beauty and design. In 1953, while serving as a guest lecturer at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago he made connections to Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Walter Gropius.

Mangiarotti returned to Italy in 1955 establishing a firm with Bruno Morasutti, later opening his own firm in 1960. His inventive nature and craftsmanship was employed in numerous projects from marble bowls and glass collections for Knoll to urban planning and industrial design projects. In 1989, he established the Mangiarotti & Associates Office based in Tokyo, Japan. A highly regarded designer, Mangiarotti was presented with the Domus Formica award in 1956, the American Industrial Partners award for industrial construction works in 1972, the gold medal in architecture by the Accademia della Torre of Carrara in 1998, and a dedicated exhibition held at Calenzano's Design Museum in May 2010. Angelo Mangiarotti died in Milan in 2012.

Auction Results Angelo Mangiarotti

Equilibrio di una Relazione Vitale

estimate: $20,000–30,000

result: $33,600

Angelo Mangiarotti

dining table

estimate: $10,000–15,000

result: $32,500

Angelo Mangiarotti

Rare coffee table

estimate: $30,000–50,000

result: $26,000

Angelo Mangiarotti

bronze vessels, set of six

estimate: $15,000–20,000

result: $22,800

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