Carlton Memphis
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Wood, Laminate
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bookcases
Wood, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Wood, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Laminate, Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Wood
1990s Italian Post-Modern Collectibles and Curiosities
Laminate, Wood
Vintage 1980s Hungarian Abstract Sculptures
Wood
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
People Also Browsed
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Velvet
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dry Bars
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Fireplaces and Mantels
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass
2010s German Modern Bookcases
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Textile, Beech
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
Birch
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Wood, Oak
Antique 19th Century English Renaissance Revival Panelling
Wood, Pine
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Leather
Antique 16th Century Indian Jewelry Boxes
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Porcelain
Recent Sales
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Bookcases
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Vintage 1980s Italian Bookcases
Plastic
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Secretaires
Mahogany, Maple
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Shelves
Laminate
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookcases
Formica, Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Bookcases
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Laminate
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wine Coolers
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Laminate, Plywood
1990s Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Laminate
Vintage 1980s Bookcases
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Screens and Room Dividers
Laminate, Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Bookcases
Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Wood
Late 20th Century Italian Memphis Group Bookcases
Wood
20th Century American Bookcases
Vintage 1980s European Modern Bookcases
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Table Lamps
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Post-Modern Models and Miniatures
Laminate, Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Carlton Memphis For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Carlton Memphis?
Ettore Sottsass for sale on 1stDibs
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.