Mid Century 1960s Set Six Chairs Chiavarine By Gaetano Descalzi, Strow Seat
Vigonza, Padova, Italy
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Easy returns (14 days)
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Free return if the item isn't as described
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Damage is rare, and you're fully protected if it happens.
Dimensions
Wear Condition
Good
Material
Walnut, Other Fabric
Style
Mid Century Modern, Vintage, Traditional
Product Details
Description
Exceptional set of six Chiavarine chairs from the 1960s, in walnut wood with original handmade straw seat, in excellent condition, sturdy and without defects.
Abuot Gaetano Descalzi-CHIAVARINA CHAIR-
This handcrafted masterpiece, traditional of the Italian region Liguria, is one of the furniture pieces that has been mostly imitated and re-adapted and carries within itself an incredible story. Everything began in Chiavari in 1807, when the marquess Stefano Rivola, on his way back from a trip to Paris, entered the studio of a carpenter that worked with ebony – Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi, also known as “Campanino”. The marquess was carrying with him a “French Empire style” chair, with a seat made of wicker and a naked structure, dared the carpenter to rework that luxury piece of furniture.
This is how the “Chiavari chair” was born, known at that time as “Campanina”, from the creator’s name. 700 grams was its total weight and it was able to sustain 150 kg – something of an exceptional nature seen the massive chairs of those days. Descalzi, by working with local woods such as cherry, maple and beech and by using turning and dovetails techniques, reinterpreted the neoclassical style in a more austere way.
What was most interesting about this piece was its seat – it was obtained by intertwining willow tree stripes 1 mm wide directly onto the structure which gave the chair a very rural feel to it. The way the legs and the back were manufactured slimmed down the whole structure, creating a new aesthetic which was less pretentious than the one popular at the time and more appropriate to the new bourgeois spaces.
The instant success resulted in King of Italy Carlo Alberto to name Descalzi’s studio “regia manifattura” [“royal factory”]. Briefly, the “Campanina” became a cult object for the European aristocracy and even personalities like Canova and Napoleon III expressed their admiration for Descalzi’s production.
Successively, many other studios dedicated to the production of analogous chairs started to prosper in the Italian region. The piece was exported to numerous royal courts around Europe and it started being known with a name with a strong regional signify – “chiavarina”.
However, at the end of the century, the Chiavari chair was overshadowed by the onset on the market of the Viennese chair Thonet, the precursor of industrial design and its great future. Yet, in 1952 the creative genius of Gio Ponti started to re-elaborate the “chiavarina” in order to design a new type of chair – using the same creative approach of Descalzi, he gave life to one of the most iconic pieces of Italian design, the “superleggera”.
Price for set.
Condition report:
Good Wear consistent with age and use.
Additional dimensions information:
Height: 100 cm Width: 45 cm Depth: 45 cm Seat Height: 17.72 in (45 cm
Wear Condition
Good
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Additional Delivery Info from Seller
Estimated delivery time
Less than one week
Free collection available
No
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Wear conditions
Excellent
Shows little to no signs of wear and tear.
Good
May show slight traces of use in keeping with age. Most vintage and antique items fit into this condition.
Average
Likely to show signs of some light scratching and ageing but still remains in a fair condition.
Apparent Wear and Tear
Visible signs of previous use including scratches, chips or stains.
Please refer to condition report, images or make a seller enquiry for additional information.
Cancellations and Returns
Last updated: 12/02/2026
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14-day return guarantee
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| 5,000+ | 110.00 |
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