Italian ‘Artona’ Wood + Leather Console by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto, 1975

This rare Italian wood and leather console comes from the inaugural Artona series, designed in 1975 by Afra Bianchin Scarpa and Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto—a collection that designers still return to for its quiet confidence and material intelligence.

At first glance, the piece feels calm and grounded. The elongated mahogany top brings warmth and visual depth, its natural grain doing much of the work without needing embellishment. The leather-clad front adds a soft, tactile counterpoint—subtle, but unmistakably luxe when you’re standing in front of it. It’s that contrast that makes the piece feel special: warm wood, smooth leather, and just enough restraint.

Three drawers run across the front, their minimal pulls keeping the look clean and horizontal. Nothing competes for attention here, which is exactly why it works so well in real interiors. The solid slab legs give the console weight and presence without making it feel heavy, allowing it to sit comfortably in both contemporary and more layered, collected spaces.

From a practical standpoint, this is one of those rare pieces that’s genuinely flexible. It works beautifully as a console; a dining room anchor piece; placed behind a sofa; floating in a room or used as a desk or multi-use console

The Scarpas:
Afra and Tobia Scarpa are widely regarded as two of the most important figures in postwar Italian design, and their work sits at the intersection of architecture, craft, and industrial production. Trained as architects in Venice, they approached furniture with an unusually deep understanding of structure, proportion, and material—designing pieces meant to be lived with, not simply admired.

Their collaboration with Maxalto in the 1970s marked a pivotal moment in Italian design. The Artona series, introduced in 1975, was among the earliest collections to fully embrace warmth and tactility within a modern framework, signaling a shift away from cold minimalism toward a more human, architectural modernism. Pieces from this inaugural series are now especially sought after, both for their historical significance and for their enduring usability.

What makes Scarpa furniture truly collectible is its restraint. Rather than relying on overt signature details, the Scarpas focused on material quality, subtle geometry, and construction. Leather-clad surfaces, expressive woods, and architectural forms were used sparingly but intentionally, resulting in pieces that feel as relevant today as when they were first produced. This timelessness—combined with limited production and exceptional craftsmanship—has made original Scarpa works increasingly difficult to find in well-preserved condition.

Today, their designs are held in major museum collections and continue to be referenced by contemporary designers for their balance of rigor and warmth. For collectors and designers alike, early Maxalto pieces by Afra and Tobia Scarpa represent a rare combination of historical importance, material richness, and everyday functionality—qualities that define lasting design value.