Jazz
₹ 6.612.000
A desk shaped by ski stations: the Zanotta Cavour CM
Before drawing this desk, Carlo Mollino spent years working on buildings in the mountains — ski stations, where a structure has to be light enough to build on a slope and strong enough to survive winter. The form he arrived at there is the one that reappears in Cavour CM: thin members, splayed and branching, carrying far more than their section suggests.
What makes it more than an anecdote is that the desk behaves accordingly. The frame does the structural work, so the top can be glass and weightless; the drawer unit and the extractable tray are hung from it as volumes rather than resting as furniture. Seen from the side the whole thing reads as a diagram of forces — which is exactly what an engineer or an architect notices first, and what a client remembers without being able to explain.
The design dates from 1949 and is still produced by Zanotta. La Mercanti specifies and delivers it for Indian practices and corporate clients.
Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.
Model: Cavour CM, code 2690, Zanotta — design Carlo Mollino, 1949
Dimensions: top 220 cm · overall 247 cm including the frame projections · depth 90 cm · height 75 cm
Frame: legs in solid natural oak, black varnished oak or Canaletto walnut · wax-finished varnish
Drawer unit and extractable tray: veneered in the same species, wax-finished, both covered with extra-clear tempered plate glass, back-painted in black
Top: clear, extra-clear or smoky grey plate glass, the latter matching the black varnished oak frame
Executive kit (on request): black cowhide covering for the bottom of the extractable tray and the first drawer · black cowhide desk pad 80 × 50 cm · solid wood penholder 35 × 15 cm in the same finish
Intellectual property: all rights to the works of Carlo Mollino are held by the Italian State; produced under exclusive licence from the State Property Agency
La Mercanti Srl — trusted supplier for design and contract projects since 1997.
San Benedetto del Tronto (AP), Italy · +39 0735 753833 · info@lamercanti.com
Supply, quotations, specifications and project support across India and worldwide.
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FAQ
What are the exact dimensions?
The glass top is 220 cm long and the overall footprint is 247 cm, because the frame extends past the glass at both ends. Depth 90 cm, height 75 cm. On a floor plan the 247 figure is the one that decides whether the desk fits, not the 220 quoted for the top.
Which timber and glass combinations exist?
Three timbers — natural oak, black varnished oak, Canaletto walnut — and three glass options, clear, extra-clear and smoky grey. The smoky grey top is paired with the black varnished oak frame, so the darker scheme is a complete combination rather than a free choice of two variables.
Does it come with any leather?
Only through the Executive kit, which lines the bottom of the tray and the first drawer in black cowhide and adds a desk pad of 80 × 50 cm and a solid wood penholder finished like the desk. Everything else on the piece is timber and glass.
Who is authorised to make it?
Zanotta, under exclusive licence from the Italian State Property Agency: the intellectual property in Mollino's designs belongs to the Italian State. For a specifier writing a schedule, that means there is one authorised source for this model and no equivalent alternative.
How is the glass fixed to the units?
The drawer unit and the tray are covered with extra-clear tempered plate glass that is back-painted black, laid over the veneered surfaces. The result is a hard, sealed top face on both volumes, while the visible sides remain wood — a detail that also makes the pieces easy to wipe clean in a humid climate.
How to plan the delivery of a large glass top
A single sheet of tempered glass reaches a room once. Five checks that belong in the order, not in the delivery week.
Measure the route before the room
Lift depth, corridor turns, door widths and any tight stairwell. A top of this length is carried upright, which changes what counts as a passable turn.
Ask when the glass is fitted
Frame and top usually travel separately and meet on site. Knowing the sequence tells you how much clear floor the installers need and for how long.
Book a finished room
Flooring laid, painting done, no other trades in the space. Glass and a wax-finished frame are the last things that should share a room with a ladder.
Agree who removes the packing
Crating for a piece this size fills a corridor. Whether it leaves with the delivery team is a line in the order, not a conversation on the day.
Confirm the access in writing
La Mercanti agrees route, date and installation window with the building management before production is released.
