Image source: Zanotta — Celestina
© Zanotta and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Celestina
Marco Zanuso's 1978 folding chair with cowhide-covered nylon slats
420 × 820 × 500 mm
1978
Official product information
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Go to the official product pageDescription
Overview
Celestina is a folding chair redesigned by Marco Zanuso for Zanotta in 1978. The project revisited a familiar anonymous folding chair that Zanotta had found in a used-furniture shop.
Construction
A painted steel frame supports nylon seat and back slats covered in cowhide 95. Zanuso replaced the earlier metal strips with the covered nylon elements to improve comfort.
Specifications
The model 2260 drawing shows 42, 50 and 82 cm without axis names. A further uncaptioned vertical mark reads 45 cm; 82 cm is the largest vertical value.
Story
Zanotta's redesign research
During the late 1970s, Zanotta began recovering anonymous objects from the past and presenting them again through contemporary redesign. Celestina came from that programme after the company encountered an outdoor folding-chair model in a second-hand shop.
Zanuso's intervention
Marco Zanuso retained the recognisable folding structure while refining its functional behaviour and comfort. His principal change was to cover the seat and back strips in cowhide rather than leave the original metal surfaces exposed.
