Zanotta Shelves
Entrepreneur Aurelio Zanotta founded Zanotta in 1954 in Nova Milanese, Italy. Originally called Zanotta Poltrona, it specialized in traditional furniture. By the early 1960s, however, Zanotta had established a reputation for edgy mid-century modern design. Today’s vintage furniture collectors know the brand well for its innovative and wholly sculptural chairs, coffee tables and more.
One of Zanotta’s earliest successes was the Mezzadro stool — better known as the Tractor stool — designed by Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and his brother Achille in the late 1950s. In 1965, Zanotta was among the first furniture companies to work with expanded polyurethane foam and frameless construction, such as for the Throw-Away sofas and armchairs designed by Willie Landels. Another popular design was the Blow chair — designed by Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi and Carla Scolari — viewed by many as a physical expression of late '60s carefree culture.
In 1969, amid the provocative movement we now call Italian Radical Design, Zanotta’s Sacco chair garnered major attention. The boundary-pushing beanbag chair was the brainchild of designers Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro who presented it to Aurelio Zanotta as a transparent vinyl sack loosely filled with small polystyrene balls. He suggested its signature brightly colored leather.
The Sacco chair won the 1970 ADI Design Museum’s Compasso d’Oro award. In 1972, the Museum of Modern Art in New York included it in the landmark exhibition “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” curated by designer Emilio Ambasz. In 2020, it received a Compasso d’Oro ADI Lifetime Achievement Award for 50 years of enduring popularity. It is now in museum collections around the world including the Triennale Design Museum of Milan, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and London’s Victoria Albert Museum.
After Aurelio Zanotta died in 1991, the company remained in his family and has been run by his three children since 2002. Zanotta continues to set the bar high for furniture design with trend-setting pieces.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Zanotta seating, tables and other furniture.
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Zanotta Shelves
Marble, Chrome
2010s Italian Zanotta Shelves
Oak
20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Zanotta Shelves
Iron
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Zanotta Shelves
Wood
1980s American Post-Modern Vintage Zanotta Shelves
Wood, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Zanotta Shelves
Wood
1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Zanotta Shelves
Steel
1990s American Post-Modern Zanotta Shelves
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Zanotta Shelves
Plastic
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Zanotta Shelves
Wood
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Zanotta Shelves
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Zanotta Shelves
Pearwood
20th Century Italian Zanotta Shelves
Iron
Early 1900s Austrian Vienna Secession Antique Zanotta Shelves
Wood
1980s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Zanotta Shelves
Silver Plate, Brass
