Dinah Chest of Drawers
Made by Cappellini
Designed by Shiro Kuramata
Shiro Kuramata conceived the Dinah chest of drawers in 1970, at a moment when Japanese design was quietly dissolving the boundary between furniture and sculpture. The piece is a vertical column of eighteen drawers in matte white lacquered wood, each engineered to open in either direction, a gesture that is simultaneously playful and precise.
A laser-cut metal frame finished in black epoxy powder provides structural counterpoint to the softness of the lacquered surfaces. The dialogue between these two materials, one yielding and white, the other rigid and dark, gives Dinah its distinctive visual tension.
The piece belongs to Cappellini's Progetti Compiuti re-edition program, which recovers works of enduring formal significance and brings them back into production with fidelity to the original specifications. Dinah's inclusion in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York confirms a stature that extends well beyond function. Produced in a numbered series, each piece carries a direct continuity with the 1970 original.
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Dinah Chest of Drawers
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cappellini Progetti Compiuti collection?
Progetti Compiuti is Cappellini's re-edition program dedicated to recovering works of enduring formal and cultural significance by major designers. Each piece is produced with fidelity to the original design specifications, preserving both the intent and the integrity of the work.
Is the Dinah chest of drawers in any museum collections?
Yes. The Dinah chest of drawers by Shiro Kuramata is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, recognizing its standing as a significant work in twentieth-century design history.
How do the drawers on the Dinah chest function?
Each of the eighteen drawers is engineered to open in either direction, left or right, rather than following a fixed pull orientation. This bidirectional mechanism is central to Kuramata's original 1970 conception of the piece.
What materials are used in the Dinah chest of drawers?
The drawers are constructed from wood finished in matte white lacquer, while the structural frame is laser-cut metal finished in black epoxy powder. The pairing of these two surfaces, matte and rigid, soft and architectural, defines the piece's visual character.
Who was Shiro Kuramata and why does his work matter?
Shiro Kuramata (1934-1991) was a Japanese designer whose practice consistently pushed furniture toward the condition of sculpture, using industrial materials and formal restraint to create objects of profound atmospheric presence. His work remains among the most studied and collected in twentieth-century design.