Paolo Buffa, Imposing Four-Door Cabinet in Walnut and Polished Brass, Italy 1950

Paolo Buffa (1903 – 1970)

A large and imposing sideboard by Milanese architect and designer Paolo Buffa, in walnut with round mirror-polished brass handles, keyholes, and key. The buffet’s long rectilinear body is incised with a sculpted, haut-relief double frame, enhanced by four handsomely carved diamond-cut mounts, each cradling a square door. The rigidity of the body’s lines are offset by indented circular handles in polished brass. The credenza is raised on strong, sculptural trapezoidal legs, beautifully modeled and culminating in arched feet, grounding the piece’s subtle geometry in a quiet interplay of angles, cut-outs and build-outs. Melding an inventive classicism with sharp-edge modernism, Buffa has created a handsome piece of generous proportions, strongly imbued with the woodworking tradition of his native Lombardy. The four doors each conceal a shelf with capacious storage.

Italy, 1950’s.