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.
Customizable Zanotta Nena Chair by Lanzavecchia + Wai
By Lanzavecchia + Wai
Located in New York, NY
Armchair. Steel frame varnished orange, amaranth, espresso, graphite or black. Seat and backrest upholstered with polyurethane. Removable fabric or leather cover. A daily glimpse, a ...
Steel
Customizable Zanotta Giuno Chair by Calvi Brambilla
By Zanotta
Located in New York, NY
non - swivel swivel version - extra charge Small armchair. Steel frame. Frame upholstered with self-extinguishing polyurethane foam. Seat cushion upholstered with regenerated and r...
Steel
Zanotta Fenis CM Solid Maple Wood Chair by Carlo Mollino
By Carlo Molino
Located in New York, NY
Chair. Frame in natural or black painted solid maple wood. Every epoch has its art A chair that is a sculpture: entirely carved out of solid maple, its back rests on the legs creatin...
Maple
Customizable Gebruder T S 43 Cantilever Chair by Mart Stam
By Mart Stam
Located in New York, NY
Range S 43 Simplicity that unfolds its effect everywhere: Mart Stam removed the back legs from furniture that for centuries had been created based on the same principles. Through evolutionary refinement, an object that simply looks good in any place where both understatement and quality are wanted. For his furniture designs, Mart Stam placed a high value on usefulness and austerity with regard to aesthetics as well as material. The straight-lined form, a clear construction and improved sitting comfort resulted from this approach. Stam achieved the greatest possible reduction with the cantilever chair S 43 by combining the tubular steel frame with moulded wood elements for seat and backrest. The pure, restrained form of this cantilever chair makes it an exemplary design in the spirit of modernism...
Steel, Chrome
Customizable Zanotta Nellee Chair by Calvi Brambilla
By Zanotta
Located in New York, NY
Chair. Steel frame. Upholstery in self-extinguishing polyurethane foam with vegetable-based polyols. Removable fabric or leather cover.
Upholstery
Customizable Zanotta Arom Chair by Noé Duchaufour Lawrance
By Zanotta, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance
Located in New York, NY
Price listed for starting fabric and exterior in cowhide. extra charge for exterior cover in leather. Armchair. Steel frame. Upholstery with self-extinguishing polyurethane foam/heat-bound polyester fibre with elastic strips suspension. Fixed internal nylon cover. Removable external fabric, Pied de poule or leather cover.The exterior body can be covered with cowhide 95, combined with fabric or leather. Cannot be covered with cowhide 95 in the shade white 0704. Arom is the latest armchair...
Leather, Fabric
Vintage Follia chair by Giuseppe Terragni for Zanotta
By Giuseppe Terragni, Zanotta
Located in Surbiton, GB
A vintage Follia Chair designed by Italian architect and designer Giuseppe Terragni in 1934 and produced by Zanotta. Composed from a black lacquered seat and back connected by an 1...
Stainless Steel
Zanotta Follia Chair in Black with Stainless Steel Backrest by Giuseppe Terragni
By Giuseppe Terragni, Zanotta
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Zanotta Follia Chair in Black with Stainless Steel Backrest by Giuseppe Terragni Black seat and back. 18/8 stainless steel backrest support spring. ...
Stainless Steel
Pasqualina Chair by Grassi&Bianchi
By Enrico Pellizzoni
Located in Milan, IT
This armchair's Minimalist look is emphasized by its slate-colored leather covering. The style also features a tubular steel frame and a metal seat pan covered in black technical fab...
Steel
Pasqualina Chair by Enrico Pellizzoni
By Enrico Pellizzoni
Located in Milan, IT
Chair with tubular steel frame completely covered in leather; metal seat pan covered with black technical fabric. All the components are available in other colors. Please contact the...
Leather
Bord Chr Ducale BZ Chair by GIROTTI ENRICO
Located in Geneve, CH
Bord Chr Ducale BZ Chair by GIROTTI ENRICO Dimensions: W 53 x D 55 x H 87 cm Materials: Solid shaped steel with a Polished Gold finish and upholstered in velvet. Weight: 7 Kg. Enri...
Steel
Lialta chair designed by Roberto Barbieri in 2006 and produced by Zanotta
By Roberto Barbieri, Zanotta
Located in Ravenna, IT
Lialta chair designed by Roberto Barbieri in 2006 and produced by Zanotta in Italy. With a polished aluminum alloy frame, the seat features soft, sinuous curves. Its high back gives ...
Aluminum
