Pair of "Senior" Armchairs with Luxury Mohair Upholstery by Marco Zanuso for Arflex, Milan, Designed 1951

A magnificent pair of "Senior" armchairs by the eminent Italian architect and designer Marco Zanuso, produced by Arflex of Milan and bearing the original Arflex manufacturer's label under the seat — a work of landmark importance in the history of Italian post-war design. Re-upholstered in new luxury mohair, the chairs present the characteristic biomorphic form and low, welcoming profile of this celebrated model: the deep seat, generously padded arms, and the pioneering foam rubber structure. The varnished brass legs provide a refined structural counterpoint to the softness of the upholstery.

Marco Zanuso (1916–2001) designed the "Senior" armchair for Arflex in 1951, in the same prolific period that produced his revolutionary "Lady" chair (Grand Prix, IX Milan Triennale, 1951). Both works explored the then-revolutionary possibilities of foam rubber padding — a material developed by Pirelli, which had commissioned Zanuso to design furniture adapted to its new synthetic foams. The resulting chairs represented a fundamental shift in the history of upholstered furniture: for the first time, the internal structure could be conceived as an integral part of the sculptural form. The Arflex label beneath the seat is the definitive mark of authenticity.

Offered as a pair with new luxury mohair upholstery, these "Senior" armchairs are collector's pieces of exceptional importance. They represent Italian design at its most historically significant and aesthetically rewarding, combining the intellectual rigour of Zanuso's formal research with the sensuous comfort that made these chairs beloved by a generation of design patrons.