Gio Ponti Superleggera chairs Cassina Italy 1957

Gio Ponti

Italy, 1891 – 1971
Architect, designer

Rare set of 6 original Superleggera (super light) chairs designed by Gio Ponti and manufactured by Cassina in Italy in 1957. The 699 Superleggera, which has been a star in Cassina’s collection since 1957, is an incredible chair designed by architect Gio Ponti. It’s a true icon that combines modern style with traditional craftsmanship. The chair is super light, and the skilled MedaMade craftsmen achieved this by making the legs very thin, only 18 millimeters across, and the whole chair weighs just 1,700 grams.

The frame of the chair is made from ashwood, which is light and flexible, while the seat’s surround is hand-woven cane, which is sturdy. This chair is a perfect blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern innovation, inspired by chair-making traditions from Chiavari in northern Italy. These chairs in this version are in their purest form, with their black painted ash wooden frames and cane handwoven seats. A beautiful detail is their triangle shaped feet. A set of 6 in this amazing condition is hard to find.

Its design was inspired by the light, ladder-back chairs with woven seats from the Italian town of Chiavari, which had originally been designed by artisan Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi in 1807. With respect to his own 1951 interpretation of the design Ponti claimed to have produced a new archetype: a ‘chair of always. But he found that the Leggera chair was not light enough and developed an even lighter version, most significantly replacing the Leggera’s rounded legs with thinner, tapered triangular legs.

Priced and sold in a set of 6 only.

Literature; Gio Ponti L’ arte si innamora dell ‘industria a cura di Ugo La Pietra, page 244-247