Lot: 382

Cesare Leonardi; Franca Stagi
'Dondolo', 1967 (design)

H. 75 x 39.5 x 170 cm.
Elco, Venice.
Molded, fiberglass-reinforced polyester, white.
Marked: Manufacturer's label.

The ribs incorporated into the material provide additional stability.

Amid the social upheavals of the 1960s, calls for new materials grew louder, ultimately leading to the rise of plastic. Particularly in Italy, which established itself as a leading design nation during this period, a multitude of innovative designs emerged that explored this material, which shaped the entire era. In this context, the “Dondolo” is considered an extremely rare design icon of the plastic boom toward the end of the 1960s. It impressively demonstrates how the classic rocking chair can be reinterpreted. The result was a previously unseen chair form with a sculptural quality. The floating, cantilevered seat clearly reflects the designers’ ambition to explore the material’s capabilities to the very limit. Only about 50 examples of the ‘Dondolo’ were produced. Today, these are housed in the most important international collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Neue Sammlung in Munich, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.

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Estimate: 10,000 € - 12,000 €