6 Superleggera dining chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina, 1970’s

A set of six “Superleggera” dining chairs designed by Gio Ponti for Cassina in the 1950s, one of the most radical expressions of his pursuit of structural lightness. The design reduces the chair to a remarkably slender frame, balancing visual delicacy with a precise construction in which every element is reduced to what is strictly necessary. The narrow proportions, tapered legs and open backrest give the chair an almost graphic presence, while the woven seat introduces a tactile counterpoint to the rigorous wooden structure. The construction is defined by exceptionally fine sections and carefully resolved joints, with the legs tapering towards the floor and the back uprights continuing uninterrupted to frame two thin horizontal rails. The woven seat is stretched within the light wooden frame, reinforcing the contrast between structural economy and traditional craftsmanship. Despite its apparent fragility, the chair was conceived around a demanding relationship between minimum material and structural resistance, making lightness not simply an aesthetic quality but the central principle of the project. Cassina identifies the 699 Superleggera, introduced in 1957, as having an ashwood structure with legs of triangular section measuring only 18 mm. The Superleggera developed from Ponti’s long-standing interest in the traditional Chiavari chair, whose extreme economy of material and refined construction he reinterpreted through the language of modern industrial production. Rather than reproducing the historic type, Ponti progressively reduced and refined it until reaching an object in which craftsmanship and serial production became inseparable. This relationship with the Ligurian chair-making tradition is particularly significant in the present set, whose seats have been rewoven by craftsmen in Chiavari, reconnecting the restoration with the very tradition that informed the original design. Condition: Excellent overall condition.