Marco Zanuso “Regent” armchair with wheels, Arflex, 1960s

Marco Zanuso "Regent" wheeled armchair for Arflex, 1960s. Rare castored version, original fabric professionally cleaned, foam construction. The "Regent" belongs to the series of upholstered seating that Marco Zanuso developed for Arflex across the 1950s and 60s — work that established him as a central figure in postwar Italian furniture design. Arflex had pioneered the use of foam rubber and elastic webbing as structural elements in upholstered furniture, and Zanuso exploited these possibilities with consistent elegance: rounded volumes, restrained profiles, and a formal refinement that places pieces like the Regent in the same register as Luigi Caccia Dominioni's contemporary Milanese work. The design reads as a single continuous shell: the high back curls forward at the top and flows without interruption into the sides and seat, while the armrests emerge from the body as soft, projecting folds. Seen from behind — often the neglected view of an armchair — the Regent is at its most sculptural, the upholstered volume tapering toward the base with an almost boat-like profile. The pale sand bouclé fabric, with its fine woven grid, underlines the softness of the geometry. The wheeled base version is the rarer of the two configurations — more versatile in use and more dynamic in silhouette. The four original castors, black-stemmed and fully functional, lift the volume slightly off the floor and add to its lightness. This example retains its original fabric, professionally cleaned, with the natural signs of age. The seat cushion, in the same cloth, shows a slight lightening from washing rather than any colour variation. The cushion padding has been replaced; the foam on the frame and backrest remains in good condition. Fully usable as found.