Aldo Tura

ALDO TURA (Italy, 1909-1963).
Bar cabinet, ca. 1950.
Lacquered wood, goatskin, brass and mirror.
It has marks of use.
Measurements: 158 x 80 x 44 cm.

This highly personal piece of bar furniture shows the confluence of interests that motivated Aldo Tura's creations and gave them a singular stamp, as is the case of experimenting with different materials or printing unorthodox treatments on surfaces: see here the attractive patina achieved with the lacquered brownish tones of the two semicircular doors, outlined with studs and attached to the furniture with attractive hardware. Aldo Tura absorbed the precepts of Art Deco, but he went beyond its minimalist legacy in search of a more dynamic style, with historicist echoes. The rectangular-bodied sea cabinet, which houses a glazed interior, sits on a turned base with a globular belly. The doors open with iron handles in the form of turnstones.

Aldo Tura began his career in experimental furniture design in the 1930s. After the sharp, angular forms of Art Deco, wood began to be used in free forms, full of curves, and Tura saw in this new taste a new direction for furniture design. His work is a significant combination of free and uninhibited forms, sometimes exceptionally ironic. His designs are also examples of the highest craftsmanship, often being produced in limited edition series, and even just a prototype. In the 1950s, Tura discovered the evocative charm of furniture painted with Venetian architectural views, and also began to experiment with various materials, such as eggshell, parchment, goatskin or wood veneers.