70s Tito Agnoli two seat ‘korium’ sofa for Matteo Grassi

In 1880 in the Brianza region of Italy, the Grassi family began crafting saddles, bridles, reins, and other leather equipment for horses. Following World War II, the Grassis joined the rapid industrialization under way in northern Italy and expanded their production to include a wide range of leather goods, especially items for both the home and public interiors. By the late 1970s, Matteo Grassi had built an international reputation for distinctive, finely made leather furniture, from chairs and sofas, to tables and beds. One of the most successful among the brand’s early original designs was Tito Agnoli’s Korium Armchair (1979).

Over the years, Matteo Grassi has worked with an impressive roster of designers, such as Carlo Bartoli, Piero Lissoni, Alessandro Mendini, Franco Poli, Eoos, Luigi Massoni, Jean Nouvel, Matteo Nunziati, Mauro Lipparini, and Rodolfo Dordoni. The brand—associated with high quality materials and generously sleek forms—is well represented in airports and executive offices around the world.

After more than a century of production Matteo Grassi changed directions and expanded more and more into airport furniture developer and so in 2016 the company/brand have been acquired by CCM, who are specialized in airport furnitures and are located in Italy, Quatar, China and Abu Dhabi. This step is for collectors of timeless furniture as interesting because the furnitures of the top designers became with that steps also more and more exclusive. As mentioned the Korium armchair was a very succesful design and not only the armchairs, but the complete Korium design line to which this two seater belongs.