Reference Number: D10014

A delightful mid century Italian drinks trolley attributable to Cesare Lacca. The two tier cart is realised entirely out of redwood and is a typical design of the 1950s/60s. The two glass shelves cradled perfectly by the redwood frame with brass detailing. This item works so well with any type of interior design, whether traditional, period, post-war or modern. A timeless design which is already a classic, both functional and decorative.

Born in Naples in 1929, Italian architect-designer Cesare Lacca created modernist furniture and metalwork throughout the 1950s. Though details of his personal life and professional training remain lost to history, there are sufficient surviving primary sources that document his many elegant designs in brass, work for which he is best known and which fetch high prices from collectors.

Like many Italian designers in the 20th century, Lacca moved to Milan after World War II to launch his career. Before he was even 21 years old, his work was selected by a group of American curators for inclusion in the landmark exhibition Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today that toured 12 US museums between 1950 and 1953—the first major exhibition of Italian design outside of Italy. The exhibition showcased the best and brightest of Italian designers who had embraced modernist principles and rejuvenated traditional Italian crafts, like Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini and Gio Ponti.

In the exhibition catalogue, curator Meyric R. Roger’s spotlights Lacca's expert achievements in brass, noting “the variety and quality of his creations,” which “place him high among the architect-designers leading the current [Modernist] movement." Rogers adds, "The quality of his work...provide[s] all the decorative effectiveness needed without strain or exaggeration”.

Lacca designed a great many tea carts and serving trolleys in his career which make up a large proportion of what is available on the vintage market today. Although it is only possible to place an attribution to Cesare Lacca, it is almost certainly one of Lacca’s designs as it is so evocative and typical of his work.