The P31 chair was designed by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno in 1957. It was available in two versions – with three or four legs. The moulded plywood seats and backs were veneered in a range of different woods - including rosewood, teak and walnut - that attached to a minimal tubular steel frame. The simple, functional chair was clearly inspired by the Charles and Ray Eames’ 1940s designs. Borsani even adapted the Eames’ method of attaching the seat back to the frame using rubber ‘shock’ mounts.

The P31 relates closely to another contemporary chair – Borsani’s S88. Designed in 1956, the S88 is a narrower version of the P31, with a folding tubular steel frame. Both the P31 and the S88 were widely published in the Italian design press through the late 1950s and early 1960s. The high profile of these designs reflects a wider interest in Borsani’s contemporary, international aesthetic. No later than 1963 (based on dated photographs in the Borsani archive), the design of both chairs had been slightly adapted by the addition of a brass fitting to the chair back. This additional brass ‘button’, which is in place on the example being acquired, was intended to provide additional stability to the chair back – according to Borsani’s wife, the backs of both chairs had had a tendency to swivel on their single fitting.