Gae Aulenti Calacatta Marble Jumbo Table for Knoll International, circa 1970
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Maker),Gae Aulenti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 14.38 in (36.53 cm)Width: 44.5 in (113.03 cm)Depth: 44.5 in (113.03 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970's
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. In excellent vintage condition.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7074236687052
Gae Aulenti
The Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti will forever be best remembered for her work with museums, in particular her 1980–86 renovation of a Beaux Arts Paris train station to create the galleries of the Musée d’Orsay. Aulenti — whose first name, short for Gaetana, is pronounced “guy” — should also be recalled for her tough intellectual spirit and for working steadily when few women found successful architectural careers in postwar Italy.
After she graduated from the Milan Polytechic in 1954, Aulenti opened an architectural office. She also joined the staff of the progressive architectural magazine Casabella, whose editorial line was that the establishment, orthodox modernism of Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus, had outlived it usefulness. When their movement for fresh approaches to architecture and design received a sympathetic hearing, Aulenti found patrons — most prominently Gianni Agnelli, of Fiat, who later employed her to renovate the Palazzo Grassi in Venice for use as an arts exhibition space.
Commissions for showrooms and other corporate spaces brought Aulenti to furniture design. She felt that furniture should never dominate a room. Her chairs and sofas — low-slung, with rounded enameled metal frames and ample seats — and tables, particularly her 1972 marble Jumbo coffee table for Knoll, project solidity and sturdiness. In lighting design, however, Aulenti is bravura.
Each work has a marvelous sculptural presence. Pieces such as her Pipistrello table lamp and Quadrifoglio pendant are a perfect marriage of organically shaped glass and high-tech fixtures. Others have a futuristic elegance — and some even have a touch of personality. Aulenti’s Pileino and La Ruspa table lamps each look almost like little robots. Her lighting pieces are an artful grace note in the career of a woman who believed in strength.
Find vintage Gae Aulenti armchairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Vintage Ceramic Panther Coffee TableLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage ceramic and glass panther coffee table. Origin: Circa 1980’s. In excellent condition with some minor scratches to glass, consistent with ageCategory
Late 20th Century Unknown Art Deco Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCeramic, Glass
- 1980's Postmodern Waterfall Glass Coffee TableLocated in Los Angeles, CAGlass coffee table with a waterfall edge and plaster ball. Origin: USA circa 1980’s. In excellent condition with minor wear consistent with age and use.Category
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Plaster
- Yellow Orix Desk by Nani Prina & Vittorio Parigi for Molteni, 1970'sBy Molteni & C, Vittorio Parigi and Nani PrinaLocated in Los Angeles, CARare tangerine yellow Orix Desk by Nani Prina & Vittorio Parigi for Molteni, 1970's. Molded out of ABS plastic. No chips or cracks. Lamp in good working condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- 1970’s Monumental Think Big CrayonsLocated in Los Angeles, CAVery rare set of 1970's Monumental Crayola Crayons by Think Big. Set of 6. Heavy plastic frame with thick paper label. Comes with original tags and paperwork. Excellent vintage condi...Category
Vintage 1970s American Models and Miniatures
MaterialsPlastic, Paper
- Anfibio Three Seat Sofa Bed by Alessandro Becchi for Giovannetti, 1972By Giovannetti, Alessandro BecchiLocated in Los Angeles, CAAnfibio foldable sofa bed designed by Allesandro Becchi for Giovannetti, 1970’s. In good vintage condition. No major defects.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
MaterialsSheepskin, Faux Leather, Foam
- Space Age Yellow Chapter One Desk by Broyhill Premier, 1970'sBy BroyhillLocated in Los Angeles, CASpace Age Yellow Chapter One desk by Broyhill Premier, 1970's. In good vintage condition.Category
Vintage 1970s American Space Age Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Gae Aulenti Carrara Marble Jumbo Table for Knoll International, 1970By Gae AulentiLocated in Los Angeles, CA
Gae Aulenti Jumbo coffee table for Knoll. Architect and designer Gae Aulenti's Jumbo coffee table is her most iconic creation made from honed white Car...
CategoryLate 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Jumbo marble coffee table by Gae Aulenti for Knoll InternationalBy Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in London, GBThe statement Jumbo coffee table by Gae Aulenti for Knoll International. With its oversized proportions and signature design, this classic piece is in excellent vintage condition. G...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Gae Aulenti, Jumbo coffee table, Knoll International 1965By Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Stockholm, SEStunning ‘Jumbo’ coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by Knoll International, Italy 1965. This example was made in black marquina marble with white veins. This table...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Gae Aulenti Space Age Marble Jumbo Coffee Table for Knoll International, 1969By Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Vicenza, ITJumbo coffee table, designed by Gae Aulenti and produced by the American manufacturer Knoll international in 1965. Legs made of white Carrara marble, tabletop of black Marquina ma...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Carrara Marble
- Gae Aulenti Jumbo coffee table black marble Knoll International Italy 1965By Knoll, Gae AulentiLocated in Etten-Leur, NLImpressive and early edition 'Jumbo' coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by Knoll International, Italy 1965. This example was made in gorgeous black Marquina marble...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Gae Aulenti for Knoll 'Jumbo' Carrara Marble Coffee Table, Italy, circa 1964By Knoll, Gae AulentiLocated in New York, NYThe 'Jumbo' Carrara marble coffee table by the famed female Italian architect Gae Aulenti, (Italy, 1927-2012) made for Knoll. Literature: Gramigna, Giuliana. Repertorio Dell'Arredo Domestico 1950-2000 Allemandi: Torino, 2003, p. 111. Size: 14 1/2" high x 44 3/4" square just table top x 67" square total The iconic design constitutes a spectacular and grand square slab of Carrara marble with a total of six pieces including the sculpted and canted corner legs; It is one of the first tables where marble, a material removed for years from the world of furniture, makes its reappearance where the material in itself has a striking and expressive aesthetic and not used as a decorative element but used constructively according to its technological characteristics. One of Aulenti's most significant designs, an impressive and grand, yet minimalist and bold addition to any home interior. Gae Aulenti (born December 4, 1927, Palazzolo dello Stella, Italy–died December 31, 2012, Milan, Italy). Gae (or Gai) Aulenti was a prominent postwar Italian designer and architect who lent her fluid approach to media and material to some of the most important architectural and interior designs of the late 20th century. Aulenti attended Politecnico di Milano in the mid 1950's and established her design practice in the same city shortly after graduation. She rose to prominence while serving as the art director for Casabella, a leading avant-garde architectural journal of the era. It was during these early years that Aulenti’s unique design philosophy emerged, one that centered on the ultimate freedom of the designer from the limitations of practice to a singular medium. Rather than selecting one style and imposing it upon a space, Gae Aulenti believed instead that the space and its inhabitants should inform the design around them. What resulted was a body of work that spanned all realms. From smaller furnishings...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble