Carlo Mollino

commissioned by Mario Lattes for the Lattes publishing house offices

Private Collection, Milan, acquired directly from the artist, 1954

Carlo Mollino: Maniera Moderna, Haus der Kunst, Munich, September 16, 2011-January 8, 2012

Domus, no. 270, May 1952, p. 53 (for the present lot illustrated)
Domus, no. 294, May 1954, p. 34 (for the present lot illustrated)
Roberto Aloi, Esempi: Sedie, Poltrone, Divani, Milan, 1957, figs. 48-52 (for the present lot illustrated)
Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari, The furniture of Carlo Mollino, London, 2006, p. 181 (for the present lot illustrated)
Carlo Mollino: Maniera Moderna, exh. cat., Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2011, p. 305 (for the present lot illustrated)
Fulvio Ferrari and Napoleone Ferrari, Carlo Mollino: Plywood, 1951, New York, 2014, n. p. (for a discussion, illustrations and period photographs of the present lot)

Overall in very good condition. The wood surfaces throughout with light surface wear, occasional surface scratches and abrasions, and minor surface irregularities and discolorations commensurate with age and use. The front and rear legs as well as the seat rails are executed in solid wood; the contoured seat and back are executed in laminated bentwood. The reverse side of the chair back appears to have a few isolated areas of superficial restoration to the outermost layer of laminate, likely to stabilize fatigued areas of the laminate. The top of the chair seat with two small isolated areas of similar superficial restoration, located adjacent to the seat back and interior shaped contour. The chair seat is very slightly warped and, as seen in the catalogue illustration, the proper left side of the seat is raised slightly above the right side. The brass tacks and hardware securing the chair seat and back all appear original and undisturbed with light surface wear and rubbing consistent with age. The proper front right bracket connecting the leg post to the seat rail, as well as the intersection of the two seat rails beneath the seat, are slightly loose and would benefit from being stabilized. The black painted triangular wood brackets and through-tenons securing the leg posts to the seat rails appear to have been repainted in the past, showing light surface wear and minor pigment losses. The black bracket securing the proper front left leg to the seat rail has a repaired fracture behind the leg post. The adjacent connection area of the leg post and seat rail appears to have been re-glued in the past and shows a minor seam separation (stable.) The front face of the proper front left leg with a very small and shallow area of fatigue to the outermost wood finish that appears to have been stabilized with glue. The rubber washers that act as spacers behind the seat back and beneath the chair seat have been replaced. An ingeniously engineered chair design by Mollino which blurs the line of functional furniture and pure sculpture.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present lot is registered in the library of the Museo Casa Mollino, Turin, as number CM 358-1.

Every time Carlo Mollino was taken by an idea he would pursue it obstinately until he brought the problem to its more congenial solution. This is the case of the design of the “Lattes” chair, which was re-designed four different times in about a one-year period in order to get to this perfected result.

The May 1952 issue of Domus magazine shows three variants of the model, the fourth being the one designed in 1950 for the traveling exhibition Italy at Work, which first opened at the Brooklyn Museum and toured to eleven other American museums. Altogether, six chairs were manufactured of the four different models, and the present lot is the only single example that survives today.

In this design, Mollino is confronting the issue of an office chair for a secretary, which, though it may not seem like the most thrilling task, he realized with great style and ingenuity. The chair ideally borders on one end the graceful lines of the seated female figure, and on the other end the precise, mechanical quality of a typewriter.  Its design thus mediates the two through its sensuous organic backrest and seat which transition into the rigid lines of the front legs. The subtly intellectual design of the chair bears the clear, correct and dry qualities of an object belonging to the Modern Movement. It is made of single, simple, detachable, machine-made elements. The joints are either mechanical brass nuts and bolts, or engineered with the inventive use of black lacquered plywood inserts fixing the legs without the use of nails or glue.  The elemental cross-bar seat structure is correctly shaped, being thicker at its center—the point of  maximum effort. Both the back and seat are fixed with rubber pads that make them flexible and oscillating for more comfort. The backrest and seat are ergonomically shaped to perfeclty match a human body. Details like the brass ends on the legs or the millings at the connecting points of the legs with the cross-bar semantically distinguish the different components and functions.

In this design, the various shapes and elements have the boldness of an abstract painting: the back legs are sexy, the split seat with differently plied ends surprises, and the backrest has the energy of an African mask. Mollino’s innovative forms become unified in a way that transports us to another world.

—Napoleone Ferrari, Founder and Curator, Museo Casa Mollino