Guglielmo Ulrich Dining Table for S.A.F.F.A. Milano, 1960s

Design
1960s

Manufacture
1960-1969

Location
Lonigo, IT

Guglielmo Ulrich dining table for S.A.F.F.A. Milano, wood, Italy, 1960s

This dining table by Guglielmo Ulrich rests on four splayed, tapered legs that angle outward in a compass stance, lending the base a sense of motion under a long rectangular top. The top is laid up from narrow planks running its full length, and the transverse battens that hold it are left exposed beneath the edge, projecting slightly as small blocks rather than hidden inside the frame. The joinery is shown throughout, so the way the table is put together becomes part of how it looks.
Executed in wood for S.A.F.F.A. Milano, this dining table belongs to a craft-driven approach to Italian mid-century cabinetmaking in which honest construction takes the place of applied decoration, made in Italy in the 1960s. The planked top carries the marks of use across its surface, while the angled legs keep the considerable length visually light. The result is a quiet, architectural object that earns its presence through proportion and joinery rather than through surface effect.