Aldo Tura - Ashtray - Goat skin

Vintage push-down mechanical ashtray, a celebrated classic of mid-20th-century Italian design conceived by Aldo Tura and produced in Milan between the 1950s and 1960s.

Structural Features and Materials:
The lower body presents a characteristic bulging, rounded silhouette. It is made of wood and covered with the designer’s distinctive technique: goatskin lacquered (glazed parchment) in a tobacco brown speckled tone. The glossy finish highlights the organic and natural texture of the material.

The Mechanical Component: The upper part is crafted in polished brass. It includes a flared rim that serves as a collection tray and a vertical central shaft topped by a knob.

The Cigarette Supports: Attached to the central metal structure are two curved brass arms ending in small semicircular recesses, designed to rest the cigarettes.

Operation: This is a push-down ashtray: by pressing the knob located at the top of the central shaft, the metal disk at the bottom of the tray descends and rotates, pushing ash and cigarette stubs directly into the container below. This mechanism allowed hiding residuals visually and trapping smoke odors inside the sealed body.

The main material of the lower body is goatskin lacquered (also known as parchment), while the metal and mechanical components are made of brass.

Here is the detail of all the materials that compose the object:
Goatskin dyed and lacquered: Covers the entire brown surface of the bulging base. This organic material was applied to the shaft and then treated with layers of transparent protective glossy lacquer (vitrification), a traditional artisanal technique typical of Aldo Tura’s creations.
Brass: Constitutes the entire upper metal structure, including the top knob, the push mechanism, the two curved arms for resting cigarettes, and the collection tray.
Wood or composite material: Constitutes the hidden inner core of the base, used as a rigid support for the application and tensioning of the leather.