La Basilica Bellini
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Wood, Hardwood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Wood, Ash
19th Century Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Animal Sculptures
Murano Glass
People Also Browsed
2010s Surrealist Figurative Prints
Canvas, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Textile, Wood
2010s Modern Tables
Hardwood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Benches
Fabric, Velvet, Lacquer, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Minimalist Side Tables
Marble, Travertine
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Marble
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
Early 18th Century Rococo Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Wood
2010s Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass, Bronze
2010s Austrian Jugendstil Chandeliers and Pendants
Silk
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
Leather, Wood
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Board
1970s Pop Art Prints and Multiples
Lithograph, Offset
Recent Sales
Vintage 1970s Italian Dining Room Tables
Beech
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Walnut
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Benches
Walnut
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Oak
Mario Bellini for sale on 1stDibs
Milan-born architect and designer Mario Bellini just may be the closest thing to a modern-day Renaissance man: His creative output spans genres, from electronics to furniture to architecture to cars, comprising iconic designs in each. Vintage Mario Bellini sofas, dining chairs and other seating pieces are widely coveted, and the designer has been the recipient of multiple prestigious Compasso d’Oro awards. More than 20 of his works are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Born in 1935, Bellini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan before founding his own firm in his native city in the early 1960s. He soon branched out beyond architecture, however, first for the tech manufacturer Olivetti, where he served as chief industrial design consultant from 1963 to 1991. During that time, Bellini oversaw the design of some of Olivetti’s most popular typewriters.
His penchant for electronic design didn’t stop there: Bellini also designed cameras for Fuji, televisions for Brionvega and a slew of audio devices for Yamaha, then served as design consultant for Renault and devised the interior of the 1980 Lancia Trevi for Fiat. Meanwhile, his architecture work spans continents, including such modern gems as the Museum of Islamic Arts at the Louvre, the National Gallery of Victoria extension in Melbourne, the Dubai Creek Complex and the Milan Convention Centre in his hometown.
And then there’s the furniture: Over the last 70 years, Bellini has designed office furniture for Vitra; lamps for Artemide, Erco and FLOS; porcelain for Rosenthal and long-admired sofas and other seating for Kartell, Natuzzi, B&B Italia, Cassina and more.
His oft-imitated 1977 Cab chair for Cassina, comprising 16 individual pieces of saddle leather that create a “skin” over a minimal metal frame, remains one of the manufacturer’s best sellers today. His pudgy-legged, round tables for Cassina foreshadow Faye Toogood’s widely loved Roly Poly line. His postmodern Summa armchairs for Kartell, as well as his elegant Chiara floor lamp, still lure collectors on vintage furniture websites.
Bellini’s most famous contribution to furniture design, though, may be his 1970 Camaleonda sofa for B&B Italia (then C&B Italia). An entrant to the 1972 MoMA show “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape,” the seat takes its name from the Italian words for chameleon and wave. Its bulbous, modular form makes it infinitely flexible. The sofa was a runaway hit at the show and, once discontinued, remained so popular among vintage dealers that B&B Italia reissued it in 2020 with all recycled materials and interchangeable seat covers. “Of all the objects I have designed, Camaleonda is perhaps the best in terms of its sense of freedom,” Bellini said.
Browse an expansive collection of vintage Mario Bellini furniture — including dining tables, armchairs, mid-century sofas and more — today on 1stDibs.