Mackintosh for CASSINA. Dining set, 1970s–1980s

CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH (Glasgow, 1868 – London, 1928) for CASSINA.
Dining set, Ingram and Basset-Lowke models. Italy, 1970s–1980s.
Black-stained ash wood, fabric upholstery, colored glass, and mother-of-pearl.
Consists of a sideboard, a folding dining table, two high-back Ingram chairs, and six mid-back Ingram chairs.
All pieces are stamped “Charles Rennie Mackintosh – CASSINA.”
In good overall condition. The decorative glass on the sideboard has a small crack, according to the owner.
Table measurements: 76 x 125 x 58 cm; length when fully extended: 177 cm.
Chair measurements: 106 x 47 x 46 cm; seat height: 46 cm.
High-back chair measurements: 150 x 47 x 46 cm; seat height: 46 cm.
Sideboard measurements: approx. 152 x 163 x 57 cm.

An exceptional dining set produced by Cassina based on some of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s most iconic designs. The eight chairs belong to the Ingram family, originally conceived for the Ingram Street Tea Rooms in Glasgow: two chairs with spectacular high backs are paired with six medium-back chairs, all characterized by their pronounced vertical lines, double central slats, and small geometric cutouts. The seats are upholstered in black-and-white checkered fabric. The Ingram chairs are derived from the designs Mackintosh developed for these interiors in the early 20th century.
The table is the DS1 model, also known as the Basset-Lowke, designed in 1918 for the residence of W. J. Basset-Lowke. Its oval tabletop features two folding wings that allow its dimensions to be radically transformed, from a compact configuration to a large dining table measuring 177 cm. Cassina began producing the model in 1975. The sideboard, also part of the Basset-Lowke series and later produced by Cassina, is the most ornamental piece in the set: it features three doors, six drawers, square mother-of-pearl inlays, and a leaded-glass panel depicting the distinctive Glasgow rose.

The significance of these editions is underscored by their inclusion in the Cassina I Maestri collection, created in 1973 specifically to incorporate the designs of Mackintosh and Gerrit Rietveld. Cassina developed the project through historical and philological research conducted in collaboration with the institutions and heirs who hold the architects’ rights, seeking to faithfully reconstruct the original designs.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was one of the leading figures in the renewal of European design at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century and the principal representative of the Glasgow School. An architect, designer, and artist, he conceived of architecture, interior design, and furniture as parts of a single body of work, developing an extraordinarily personal language that blended Scottish tradition, Neo-Gothic style, abstract geometry, and the influence of Japanese art. His interiors and furniture—especially his famous high-backed chairs—anticipated essential aspects of the Modern Movement and transformed furniture into an instrument capable of visually structuring space.