Aldo Tura

ALDO TURA (Italy, 1909 - 1963).
"Bar a forma di portone", 1950s-60s.
Lacquered and varnished wood with burgundy red stained parchment-like finish. Front doors in rosewood or root wood with natural grain. Decorative gilt brass hardware. Resting on a chalice-shaped sculptural base, lacquered in marble red. Interior entirely covered with mirror, divided by two glass shelves.
Measurements: 155 x 80 x 44 cm.

This cabinet by Aldo Tura represents one of the most scenographic expressions of mid-20th century Italian design. The mixture of stained parchment, Gothic-inspired hardware and the sculptural base give the whole an almost theatrical presence, testimony to the originality and material virtuosity of the Milanese designer.

Aldo Tura was one of the most singular creators of post-war Italian design, a craftsman and inventor of atmospheres who transformed furniture into authentic sculptures.
He began his career in the 1930s, inheriting from Art Deco his taste for formal elegance, but abandoning its straight lines in favor of free, curved and sensual forms. During the 1950s, Tura experimented with a palette of unprecedented materials - parchment, goatskin, eggshell, translucent lacquers and exotic woods - achieving surfaces of rich texture and intense color that became his unmistakable hallmark.
Each of his pieces, often conceived as a limited series or even a unique prototype, combines a profound sense of craftsmanship with an exuberant, almost surreal imagination.
Rediscovered by the international market in recent decades, Tura is today considered a cult figure within Italian Mid-Century Design, alongside names such as Gio Ponti, Carlo Bugatti and Osvaldo Borsani. His work reflects the spirit of an era in which Italian design aspired not only to be functional, but also to excite.