Image source: Cassina — Cab 412 Chair
© Cassina and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Cab 412 Chair
Saddle-leather dining chair by Mario Bellini, 1977, in Standard and Maxi sizes; Cassina.
520 × 820 × 490 mm
1977
Approx. $1,400 (reference price; varies by region and retailer)
Official product information
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Description
Overview
The Cab 412 is a chair in saddle leather made by Cassina to a design by Mario Bellini; the page headline and the product sheet both carry "Mario Bellini, 1977". Cassina's page describes Cab as "the world's first free-standing cowhide design chair, informed by the relationship between the skeleton and the skin".
Construction
The page lists upholstery made up of 21 parts in saddle-hide, a self-supporting saddle-hide structure and polyurethane foam padding. On the sheet the frame is black coated tubular steel with a black plastic seat shell; the padding is flexible cold moulded polyurethane foam, the cover is leather, and the black plastic feet come with and without adhesive felt.
Image source: Cassina — Cab 412 Chair · © Cassina and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy
Specifications
- Standard (412 S1/S2/S3): 52 cm wide, 49 cm deep, 82 cm high, seat height 45 cm
- Maxi (412 M1/M2/M3): 52 cm wide, 54 cm deep, 82 cm high (the sheet shows 47 cm for the width)
- Leather: saddle leather (13 colours on the page), hand-shaded saddle leather and Plus saddle leather
Story
Skeleton and skin
Cassina presents Cab as an example of production excellence that needs multiple stages of artisan workmanship, under the title "Tailor-made garment". The sheet describes a free-standing leather structure that draws its inspiration from the way our skin fits over our skeleton.
A tailored cover
The sheet says the leather pieces are joined by sewing only once their outer edges have been trimmed, so that they fit exactly. The assembled cover then goes onto the steel skeleton and is closed with a zipper, like a bespoke tailored garment.
Image source: Cassina — Cab 412 Chair · © Cassina and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy
More by Mario Bellini
684 Armchair
Soft upholstered armchair by Mario Bellini, 1973, with optional casters; Cassina.
Amanta Armchair
Single-module lounge chair by Mario Bellini, a 1966 design reissued by HAY, in five shell colours
Le Bambole x Stella McCartney
Bellini's Le Bambole sofa in Stella McCartney's Fungi Forest print, built to be disassembled.
Baby Cab Chair
Small saddle-leather chair, a scale reduction of Mario Bellini's Cab (1977), by Cassina.
Collection
Cab
Cab by Mario Bellini for Cassina: a steel skeleton in a saddle-leather skin, from the 1977 chairs to the Cab 410 stool, Cab Night bed and Cab Tab table.
