■ PAIR OF "BAFFO" LOUNGE CHAIRS, by Gianni Pareschi (Italy, 1940 - 2017) and Ezio Didone (b. 1939) for Gruppo Industriale Busnelli, Italy, 1969. The chromed tubular steel frame bent in a single continuous arc, its four upturned ends suspending a sling seat of cowhide leather entirely clear of the ground, the curved silhouette lending the model its name - baffo, the Italian word for mustache - and its graphic, emblematic character.
First-edition production, distinguished from the 2007 Busnelli re-edition by period cowhide and galvanic chrome; original leather with wear and cracking consistent with age and use, frames structurally sound.
Height 89 cm (35 inches); width 78 cm (30 ¾ inches); depth 98 cm (38 ⅝ inches); seat height 35 cm (13 ¾ inches).
Designed in 1969 by Pareschi and Didone, both members of the Milanese collective Gruppo DAM (Designers Associati Milano), which held an exclusive production agreement with Gruppo Industriale Busnelli and delivered under it a sequence of now-canonical models - Armadillo, Baffo - alongside contributions to the company's visual identity.
Compare:
□ Pareschi's related Busnelli design, the Fiocco chair, in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.