Monk Chair
The Scarpas' Monk as a dining chair with a leather seat on a solid wood and steel frame.
515 × 760 × 435 mm
Source: spec sheet PDF — MSD1 chair — published as W 51.5 × D 43.5 × H 76 cm
1973
Description
Overview
Monk is a Molteni&C chair for the dining area. It has its own drawing (code MSD1) on a datasheet shared with the lower and wider armchair version.
Construction
The datasheet gives the chair a solid ash and American walnut wood base, a painted steel frame and plastic feet, with the outer cover in hide leather in Molteni range colours. The cover is not removable.
Specifications
- MSD1 chair: 51.5 cm wide and 43.5 cm deep; the drawing's tallest vertical value is 76 cm, which is not labelled on the drawing
- Base finishes: coffee oak, black oak, American walnut
Story
The chair on its own page
The page offers Monk both as a versatile chair for the dining area and as an armchair, and shows the chair in two captioned versions: natural hide leather with walnut wood, and black hide leather with black oak wood. The datasheet says the seat structure is made of two hide leather sections, available in any colour from the Molteni&C collection.
Where it began
Wikipedia's article on Tobia Scarpa says the designers' collaboration with Molteni began in 1973 with the design of the Monk dining chair.
More by Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Carlotta Outdoor Armchair
Outdoor armchair by Afra & Tobia Scarpa, 1969: solid iroko frame, hand-woven ropes, cushioned seat.
Carlotta Coffee Tables
Outdoor coffee tables in three sizes: solid iroko frame, glazed porcelain stoneware top.
MHC.3 Miss
Afra and Tobia Scarpa's 1986 ash chair whose front legs bend up into the armrests.
Monk Armchair
Scarpa's 1973 Monk as a lower, wider armchair, re-edited in 2025 in leather and solid wood.