Pair of Gio Ponti Armchairs for Cassina, Conte Grande Liner, 1949

The armchairs stand on four turned walnut legs, from which rises a compact volume that draws slightly inward at the back. The silhouette reads as a small architecture: armrests and backrest are wrapped in a single line that starts low at the front, climbs diagonally and ends at the top with two barely sketched ears. The flanks are full to the floor, the seat cushion is single, edged with piping on every border. Seen from the side, the profile describes one continuous trajectory, from foot to crown of the back.

The structure is built in solid walnut, exposed only in the legs; the remainder of the frame is fully wrapped. The upholstery has been redone in a cream-toned fabric with a velvety hand, mounted with piping along all external seams. The seat cushion is shaped as a single shell and rests on a fixed platform. The legs are turned, slightly flared towards the floor, with a clean profile and a satin wax finish that allows the walnut grain to read through.

The armchairs are the work of Gio Ponti (1891-1979), a central figure of twentieth-century Italian architecture and design and founder of Domus in 1928. The model was designed in 1949 for the interiors of the Conte Grande ocean liner, one of the Italia di Navigazione ships whose post-war fittings Ponti oversaw; the same years saw his celebrated work for the Conte Biancamano and the Andrea Doria. Production is by Cassina, the Brianza manufacturer with whom Ponti had begun an ongoing collaboration in the late 1940s, the same partnership that would produce the Superleggera in 1957. These are first-edition examples, contemporary to the design.

The armchairs are in excellent condition. The upholstery has been recently redone and presents taut, clean, free of stains or wear. The walnut legs retain their original patina, with small signs of use along the lower edges consistent with the age of the structure. The padding holds evenly on both examples, seams and piping are intact.

Dimensions: Height 84 cm (33.1 in) x Width 73 cm (28.7 in) x Depth 69 cm (27.2 in) - Seat height: 41 cm (16.1 in)