Italian 20th Century Beige "Soriana" Leather Sofa By Tobia Scarpa For Cassina
About the Item
- Creator:Tobia Scarpa (Designer),Cassina (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.56 in (70 cm)Width: 66.93 in (170 cm)Depth: 36.62 in (93 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Other (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. In Good Condition - Some light wear to the leather consistent with domestic use. Please refer to photographs.
- Seller Location:Royal Tunbridge Wells, GB
- Reference Number:
Tobia Scarpa
Widely recognized as superstars of postmodern Italian design, husband-and-wife team Afra and Tobia Scarpa (1937–2011; b. 1935) collaboratively created chairs, sofas and other furniture that work equally well in both traditional and cutting-edge environments.
Afra Bianchin and Tobia Scarpa met as architecture students at the Università Iuav di Venezia. In a class led by architect and furniture designer Franco Albini, they created their first collaborative piece, the Pigreco armchair, later produced with Gavina. After graduating in 1957, Tobia Scarpa worked for Murano glass company Venini & Co. before the couple opened a studio in Afra’s hometown, Montebelluna, in 1960. (Tobia, the son of famed glass artist and architect Carlo Scarpa, was born in Venice.)
Ranging from architecture and interior design to furniture and clothing, the Scarpas’ practice from its beginnings in the mid-1950s to the 21st century has included a diverse scope of projects combining new technology with thoughtful function and sculptural yet simple forms.
For Afra and Tobia, a close collaborative process was pivotal to the success of their designs. The duo was also prolific — they designed for the most influential European manufacturers, including B&B Italia, Cassina, Knoll and FLOS. With respect to the latter, Afra and Tobia were among the legendary Italian lighting maker’s earliest collaborators, and their pioneering designs for the brand included the Papillon lamp, one of the first fixtures to use halogen technology. Their most recognized designs include the Bastiano sofa (1962), the Vanessa bed (1959), the Coronado sofa (1966) and the Soriana seating collection (1970). Work on the Soriana sofa began in late 1969 for an early 1970 debut, and it feels as radical today as it did in its heyday.
Architecture was also a central part of Afra and Tobia’s practice, which spanned residential buildings and factories for Italian companies such as Benetton. Their commissions for the global fashion brand included numerous industrial projects, from textile plants to storefronts. By 1985, Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s work was celebrated in a 30-year retrospective at Center Four in Queens, New York. Looking around the 30,000-square-foot exhibition space, Afra joked to the New York Times, “Seeing all those things makes us feel very tired, and now we feel that maybe we worked too much.”
It was not too much for their legacy, as Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s work continues to inspire new generations. Scarpa designs are in collections at the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The couple was awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1970 for the Soriana armchair.
Find vintage Tobia Scarpa table lamps, sofas, dining chairs and other furniture today on 1stDibs.
Cassina
Furniture manufacturer Cassina is a prolific design house for more reasons than one: It not only owns the licenses to an exquisite collection of iconic chairs, sofas, tables and other pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries but also produces original works that are characterized by innovation and the finest Italian craftsmanship.
Cassina’s illustrious legacy includes being one of the first companies to bring industrial design to Italy in the 1950s. Founded in 1927 in Meda, Italy, by brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina, the Italian manufacturing giant originally specialized in bespoke woodworking. In nearly a century since its founding, the company has shown incredible foresight about design trends and the evolution of technology.
In 1964, Cassina signed an exclusive licensing agreement to manufacture furniture by Le Corbusier and his collaborators — such as the LC4 chaise longue made with trailblazing French modernist Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret — a move that would shape the future of the company. Cassina’s I Maestri collection is an ongoing initiative to restyle landmark designs from the 20th century, such as pieces by Gerrit Rietveld (the Red and Blue armchair from 1918), Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Franco Albini and Frank Lloyd Wright. The company preserves the intentions and original styles of their designs but adds updated techniques, materials and processes — rendering them the best possible combination of past, present and future. The brand has also worked with contemporary icons like Zaha Hadid, Gio Ponti and Philippe Starck.
Cassina’s original designs are cutting-edge as well. They include pieces for everyday use, the development of which is guided by comfort and the marriage of Italian craftsmanship with industrial technology.
Some of Cassina’s pieces, both from its contemporary and I Maestri collections, can be found in the collections of museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Vitra Design Museum. In 2014, the company became part of Haworth in its acquisition of Italian furniture group Poltrona Frau, and in 2015, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola joined Cassina as its art director, leading the brand into its next century of inventive style.
Find a collection of new and vintage Cassina furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Woodham, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- 20th Century Red "Coronado" Armchair By Tobia Scarpa For B&B ItaliaBy Tobia Scarpa, B&B ItaliaLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA beautiful “Coronado“ armchair and footstool by Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, made in Italy around the latter part of the 20th century. Finished in a very rare red suede leather, it comes with its matching red footstool...Category
20th Century Italian Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Suede
- 20th Century Leather Sofa In The Manner Of Le Corbusier, Italy c.1980By Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand Cassina, CassinaLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA white leather sofa in the manner of Le Corbusier’s LC2 sofa, crafted in Italy in the 1980s. It captures the essence of vintage aesthetics and offers the same iconic look as its cou...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- 20th Century Leather Sofa In The Manner Of Le Corbusier, Italy c.1980By Cassina, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand CassinaLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA white leather sofa in the manner of Le Corbusier’s LC2 sofa, crafted in Italy in the 1980s. It captures the essence of vintage aesthetics and offers the same iconic look as its cou...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- 20th Century Faux Crocodile Leather Sofa by Fendi, Italy, c.1990By FendiLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA stunning sofa made in Italy by Fendi. Dating to the latter part of the 20th century, the supple white leather upholstery has a faux crocodile pattern on the armrests, giving them a...Category
20th Century Italian Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- 20th Century Faux Crocodile Leather Sofa By Fendi, Italy, c.1990By FendiLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA stunning sofa made in Italy by Fendi. Dating to the latter part of the 20th century, the supple white leather upholstery has a faux crocodile pattern on the armrests, giving them an elegant and unusual look. The details really make the difference to this sofa; the leather back support cushions with embossed with the Fendi logo, the chrome feet, the stitched badge on the armrest, all of which show first class craftsmanship and screams quality. CONDITION In Good Condition - Wear and patina consistent with age, small cigarette...Category
20th Century Italian Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- 20th Century Italian Curved Sofa By Gigi Radice For Minotti, c.1960By Gigi Radice, MinottiLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA curved sofa made in Italy in the middle part of the 20th century. The sofa has been upholstered in a sumptuous crimson boucle’ fabric, the striking mid century design with sharp an...Category
20th Century Italian Sofas
MaterialsFabric
- Sofa Soriana by Tobia Scarpa for CassinaBy Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaThree seater sofa model Soriana designed by Tobia Scarpa in 1969. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. A design armchair with soft, generous contours, designed to bring home casual,...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Sofa Soriana by Tobia Scarpa for CassinaBy Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaThree Seater sofa model Soriana designed by Tobia Scarpa in 1969. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. A design armchair with soft, generous contours, designed to bring home casual, so...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Soriana Armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for CassinaBy Cassina, Tobia ScarpaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaSoriana armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina. Manufactured in Italy. The idea of comfort itself becomes a sofa. Soriana came into being in 1969, thanks to an intuitive vision...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Soriana Armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for CassinaBy Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaSoriana armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina. Manufactured in Italy. The idea of comfort itself becomes a sofa. Soriana came into being in 1969, thanks to an intuitive vision...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Soriana Armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for CassinaBy Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaSoriana armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina. Manufactured in Italy. The idea of comfort itself becomes a sofa. Soriana came into being in 1969, thanks to an intuitive vision...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Afra & Tobia Scarpa “Soriana” Sofa for Cassina, 1969By Cassina, Afra & Tobia ScarpaLocated in Lonigo, VenetoAfra & Tobia Scarpa “Soriana” three-seater sofa for Cassina, original brown leather and chromed steel, Italy, 1969. Although technically designed in the 1960s, the "Soriana" model b...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
MaterialsChrome
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Billy Cotton Layers His Interiors with Lived-In Comfort
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.