Art Deco Console in Walnut Root by Paolo Buffa for Permanente Mobili Cantù, 1940s

Elegant Mid-Century Modern Console Low to three drawers by Paolo Buffa for the permanent Cantù furniture in walnut root. Accessories such as manuels and gilded brass feet.
Top in lacquered crystal.

Paolo Buffa
The Italian architect and designer Paolo Buffa (1903-1970) was active between the 1930s and 60s, and is known for his furniture that merges the neoclassical style with art of art of modernist. His pieces are often devoid of brands or distinctive signs, making them therefore difficult to authenticate.

Born and raised in Milan, Buffa studies architecture at the famous Polytechnic of the city, where he graduated in 1927. The following year he founded a design study together with Antonio Cassi Ramelli, met during a short work in the Atelier of Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia. The professional debut of the two designers takes place in 1930, when the duo presents a dining room installation at the Triennale of that year. Between 1933 and 1936, Buffa will merge his study.

By drawing for the highest Milanese social classes, Buffa design are manually made in the most fine and quality materials, and are able to compete with Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, legend of the French art of art. Collaborating with talented ebanists such as Mario Quarti, and specialized craftsmen, Buffa slowly manages to introduce modern techniques on the design scene of the early 1940s. The evolution of Buffa’s aesthetic, progressively increasingly modern, is very clear and linear; from the neoclassical furniture of the beginnings, with their complex and intricate decorations, Buffa comes to draw in the 1960s armchairs and essential consoles and pure lines. In the 1960s he will also collaborate with Cassina.

In addition to the design of furniture, Buffa has also dedicated itself to a variety of architectural projects, and interior design, which range from the design of tombs (its very first commission) to yacht for the Egyptian realities, villas, hotels, offices, and so on.

Despite its abundant production, and its importance for the evolution of design culture in Italy in the middle of the century, it was written relatively little on the designer after his death in the 70s. Nonetheless, the appetite of collectors and enthusiasts for its objects continues to grow on the vintage market, in particular thanks to their very high quality and for the successful union of classicism and modernity.