Tito Agnoli for Caleido/Poltrona Frau Chest of Drawers in Patchwork Leather

Tito Agnoli for Caleido/Poltrona Frau, chest of drawers, patchwork cognac leather, stained birch, Italy, 1970s.

A striking and rare commode designed by Tito Agnoli for Caleido, a subsidiary of Poltrona Frau. Crafted in Italy during the 1970s, this exceptional piece showcases a full-body patchwork design in high-quality cognac-colored leather, featuring a range of subtle shades. The patchwork layout is composed of rows interrupted by visible stitching, creating a visually intriguing composition of shapes. This piece would be the point of interest in a dressing or bedroom.

Tito Agnoli (1931-2012), whose full name is Giovanni Battista Agnoli, is considered one of the most important Italian designers of modern lighting. Agnoli was born in 1931 in Lima, two years after his parents emigrated to Peru in 1929 due to the political situation in Italy where Mussolini's fascistic regime was on the rise. After WWII, Agnoli came to Milan in 1947 and started to take art lessons and enrolled into the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. The mid-century tendency in the art world, with surrealism and abstract expressionism thriving, didn't suit Agnoli's realism. A year later he began to study engineering and architecture at the Milan Polytechnic. During his career, Agnoli worked as an assistant for Gio Ponti and Carlo De Carli. From the fifties onwards, Tito Agnoli, who was still very young, created a series of ambitious creative design projects for O-Luce, Arflex, Poltrona Frau, Matteo Grassi, etc. He has been nominated for the Compasso d’Oro several times during his career. Nowadays, some of his designs are part of the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York.

Kindly note that the piece is in good, used condition with some signs of age and use. For further details, we encourage you to reach out to our team of design specialists.

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