Vintage Soriana leather and metal sofa by Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Italy 1969

Afra & Tobia Scarpa "Soriana" 2-seater sofa, leather and metal, Italy, 1969. The Soriana lounge chair is low and soft and invites the sitter to sink into it. Its special feature is the outer cage made of chromed steel. It gives shape to this otherwise shapeless design. Soriana's upholstery is made of polyurethane foam and Dacron fibre, covered with wool or leather and encased in a chrome steel clip. Two parts make up the outer cage. Two steel plates connect them to the base. Then, two covered buttons placed on the sides of the backrest connect the cover to the external support elements. In addition, two covered buttons on the front of the backrest tighten the cover to improve its shape. This is possible because a wire connects them to two plastic supports embedded in the back of the clamp. In the same way, four covered buttons are placed on the seat and connected to the base. The base is made of black lacquered beech. Near the front of the base there is the Cassina paper mark. Afra and Tobia Scarpa designed Soriana in 1969 for the Italian company Figli di Amedeo Cassina, after the great success of the 924 chaise longue, the 121 chairs and the Ciprea armchair. In those years, major innovations in polyurethane foam moulding techniques introduced new ways of designing sofas. Thus, the idea that gave birth to Soriana was to wrap a pile of wool with fabric to create a large package, giving it a support and a shape (without form) with an external steel clamp that grips it. The base is a tiny wooden plate. Afra and Tobia Scarpa originally designed a chaise longue. Later they extended the project to a whole range of chairs. Literature: Gramigna, Giuliana. Repertorio del Design Italiano 1950-2000 per L'Arredamento Domestico. Allemandi: Torino, 2003, p. 174.