Mario Asnago and Claudio Vender

Claudio Vender’s heirs collection, Milan

C. Zucchi, F. Cadeo, M. Lattuada, Asnago e Vender, Architetture e progetti 1925 - 1970, Skira edition, 1999, p. 34

Casabella n° 140, 1940 - Un negozio di Asnago e Vender, R. Giolli

Domus 143, 1939, p. 59 (for a similar example)

Domus 686, 1987

‘Linea’ the Claudio Vender’s Home Collection, Ihnua Gallery & Studio, Verona, Oct 11th - Oct 25th 2024

This lot is sold together with a certificate of authenticity from the Asnago Vender Architects Archive.

The chair was first designed by Mario Asnago and Claudio Vender for the Panarello pastry shop project on corso Magenta in Milan in 1936. In the following years, the same chair model was used in various other projects, including the Istituto Ottico Viganò store in piazza San Babila, Milan, in 1936 and the Moka Bar on Via Tommaso Grossi, Milan, in 1939. The surprisingly modern design features references and echoes inspired by pure rationalism. The structure of the chair consists of a thin and refined metal tubular frame, with a sophisticated cross on the backrest and braided rope on the seat.

The distinctive X-shaped element on the backrest would become, from that time on, a hallmark of the

furniture designs created by architects Mario Asnago and Claudio Vender, who would incorporate it into

various other types of furniture, including tables, desks, beds, and sofas. Later, starting from 1985, a chair with different dimensions from the one described here was chosen for mass production and was nicknamed “Moka.” The lot consists of 6 chairs of the above-described model, all unique pieces, consistent in size with those produced in 1936 and 1939, specifically designed and made for Claudio Vender’s personal residence, as documented by a photo of Claudio Vender himself seated at his desk on one of these chairs.

All the items presented are part of the furnishings of Claudio Vender’s private residence, and they are all unique pieces designed by architects Mario Asnago (1896-1981) and Claudio Vender (1904-1986), who founded the Asnago - Vender Architects Studio on Via Cappuccio in Milan, in the 1920s. Created from the early 1930s to the 1950s, each piece is a tribute and an example of the highest product design of Italian rationalism, crafted by the finest artisanal production in the Brianza region. It is rare to present such a complete, well-preserved collection of various types of furniture from a single residence on the international market. The Asnago - Vender Architects Studio often designed furnishings for individual residences or shops. These were not mass-produced industrially but were crafted by trusted artisans with whom they collaborated, allowing them to experiment with new forms, materials, and techniques. As a result, sometimes a design was reproduced with variations in size and materials. Occasionally, the project underwent minor or substantial changes, leading to a different design.