Tura Lacquered Bar Cart
Aldo Tura — Aldo Tura, Milan
Glossy lacquered goatskin parchment in deep burgundy, finished with polished brass: Aldo Tura's 1960s bar cart turned a material more commonly used for drum-making into one of Italian Mid-Century design's most glamorous objects.
From a family drum-making business to furniture design
Aldo Tura took over his father's family business in the 1930s, which originally made drums and other objects from goatskin parchment — that tanned, thin animal-hide material traditionally used for drumheads. Rather than staying within that narrow market segment, Tura recognized the material's decorative potential during the 1940s and '50s and began applying it, lacquered and in bold colors, to furniture surfaces — an unusual material transfer from musical-instrument making into furniture design for its time.
Multi-layered lacquer over a natural material
Making a Tura piece requires an elaborate, multi-step process: goatskin parchment is stretched over a wood core, then coated in numerous layers of colored lacquer and polished until a deep-glossy, almost mirror-like surface emerges. Beneath the smooth lacquer, though, the parchment's characteristic, slightly irregular texture remains perceptible — a material effect not easily replicated by industrially lacquered wood or plastic, and one that gives every Tura piece a distinctly handmade quality.
A counterpoint to rational Italian design
While contemporaries like Gio Ponti, with the Superleggera chair, pursued reduction and rational lightness, Aldo Tura followed the opposite approach within Italian Mid-Century Modern: opulent materiality, bold color, and a deliberately decorative, almost theatrical presence. That stance made his furniture especially popular in international hospitality and among a cosmopolitan, urban 1960s clientele seeking glamorous, unmistakable interiors.
The bar cart as a stage for sociability
The bar cart was a central piece of social living-room culture in the 1960s — an era when mixing cocktails together was a fixed part of hosting guests. Tura's lacquered version additionally turned this functional piece into a standalone jewel, one that could stand in a room as a decorative object even when closed, rather than simply being a tool for the next drink.
The Tura bar cart in a style mix
The bar cart works beautifully as a glamorous accent in otherwise reduced rooms: in a Modern Luxury living room with marble and brass, it adds an additional material layer to the ensemble; in a Cyberpunk × Art Deco interior with neon light, its deep burgundy supplies a warm counterpoint; and next to simpler Vintage furniture, the cart itself becomes the room's unmissable focal point.
Ateliology Style Verdict
The Tura bar cart proves that a material from drum-making can become one of design history's most glamorous furniture finishes. Aldo Tura's elaborate lacquer technique and his commitment to opulent decoration make it a style piece that embodies Italian glamour in its purest form.