Rare Osvaldo Borsani Vanity Table in Maple with Mirrors and Built-in Lights

An exquisite and truly exceptional vanity table designed by the Italian Osvaldo Borsani, dating back to around 1943. This rare gem encapsulates the quintessence of Borsani’s design ethos: elegant and graceful proportions, fine materials, and unique constellations. Crafted from warm-toned maple, every detail speaks of refinement, from the intricately carved legs adorned with graphic white lines to the kidney-shaped top embellished with a mirrored surface, reflecting one’s cherished objects with finesse. An outstanding element is the trio of individual rectangular mirrors with softly rounded contours, equipped with built-in lamps executed within a brass framework, their crown sockets gracefully encircling the lightbulbs. These mirrors are affixed to a maple panel punctuated by three characteristic holes, a signature touch of Borsani. A discreet drawer offers practical storage while maintaining the table’s sleek aesthetic. In every aspect, this table attests to Borsani’s masterful ability to strike the perfect balance between the orante elegance of Art Deco and the daring approach towards materiality and streamlined functionality of Modernism.

Osvaldo Borsani (1911-1985) was an Italian designer and architect, raised by a family of fine furniture makers in Varedo. At the age of 16, he joined his father’s furniture shop, the Atelier di Varedo, which was fully engaged in designing and furnishing homes inspired by the Italian Art Deco movement. The designer of the atelier was the Italian architect Gino Maggioni (1898-1955) who was known for his Viennese Jugendstil orientation of the early 20th century. In the 1930s, he graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and Politecnico di Milano, where he studied Fine Arts and Architecture respectively. In 1932, the family company was renamed ‘Arredamenti Borsani’ and opened its first studio in Milan. During this period, he encountered Avant-Garde artists of various artistic disciplines like Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), Agenore Fabbri (1911-1998), Aligi Sassu (1912-2000), Roberto Crippa (1921-1972), Fausto Melotti (1901-1986), Arnaldo Pomodoro (1926-) and Giò Pomodoro (1930-2002). These collaborations resulted in the creation of furniture and interior design projects with a high-level of craftsmanship and artistry. In 1953, Borsani founded together with his twin brother Fulgenzio Borsani ‘Tecno’, a design and manufacturing company that produced items based on mechanical innovations and refined technicality. The ‘P40’ adjustable lounge chair (1953) has become the ideological manifesto of Borsani’s Tecno program, and still remains the best known, exemplary piece in the Tecno catalogue. Other iconic works that were produced by Tecno were created by Gio Ponti (1891-1979), Vico cham (1920-2006), Carlo de Carli (1910-1999), Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), and many other influential Italian designers. Osvaldo Borsani died in 1985 in Milan. His diverse and sophisticated oeuvre is to be found in permanent collections, such as of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Neue Sammlung in Munich, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Trienalle di Milano Museum.