Joe Akston, magazine publisher and artist, and his wife, Ziuta, heiress to the Q-tip fortune, happened upon the Tecno showroom on via Montenapoleone during a trip to Italy in 1970. Ziuta was drawn to two Clamis armchairs, model no. PS142, designed by Eugenio Gerli. A conversation was struck up and soon a partnership between the Borsanis and the Akstons was born.
Exterior of La Ronda, Palm Beach, Florida. Image courtesy: the Palm Beach Preservation Foundation Architectural Archive. It just so happened that the Akstons had just completed a new home, La Ronda, designed by architect John Volk. Osvaldo Borsani along with his daughter Valeria Fantoni Borsani, were commissioned to provide Tecno works along with bespoke works for the Palm Beach interior. The design—a series of interlocking rooms with rounded walls and sweeping views facing out towards the beach—was a dramatic departure from John Volk’s previous work and a new challenge for the Borsanis.
Interior of La Ronda, Palm Beach, Florida. Image courtesy: the Palm Beach Preservation Foundation Architectural Archive. A year after their fortuitous meeting in Milan, the Borsanis delivered their final design for the interior including unique works made specifically for the commission. The present chest of drawers with accompanying mirror and sleek steel bench can be seen in archival photos of the interior. The Borsanis were clearly influenced by their clients and their collection of modern art and sculpture. The present designs reflect an American sensibility of luxury and boldness well-suited for their original environment.
Provenance
Ziuta G. and Joseph J. Akston, Palm Beach, commissioned directly from the designers, 1971
Thence by descent
Bonhams, New York, "Modern Decorative Art + Design," December 14, 2018, lot 105
Acquired from the above by the present ownerLiterature
Giampiero Bosoni, Osvaldo Borsani: Architect, Designer, Entrepreneur, Milan, 2018, illustrated p. 435, 598
Property of an Important International Collector
46
Unique wall-mounted chest of drawers and mirror
1971
Fabric-covered wood, bronze, painted wood, mirrored glass.
Chest: 18 1/4 x 78 3/4 x 25 in. (46.4 x 200 x 63.5 cm)
Mirror: 64 1/2 x 43 3/4 x 1 1/8 in. (163.8 x 111.1 x 2.9 cm)
Produced by Tecno, Milan, Italy.
Estimate
$15,000 - 20,000
Sold for $27,940
Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist
Associate Head of Sale
bgreen@phillips.com
+1 917 207 9090
Design
New York Auction 5 June 2024
