Octagonal Green Centrepiece / Vide Poche by Fontana Arte, Italy, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1.58 in (4 cm)Width: 7.09 in (18 cm)Depth: 7.09 in (18 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Green Art Glass Triangular Bowl/Vide Poche, Murano, Italy, 1960sBy Fontana ArteLocated in London, GBBeautiful videpoche/ ashtray / bowl in Murano Art glass . Triangular shape with rounded edges in style of Fontana Arte Murano 22cm x 22cm xH...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsArt Glass
- Midcentury Adjustable Brass Table Lamp and Vide Poche with a Yellow Metal ShadeLocated in London, GBMidcentury adjustable brass table lamp / vide poche or ashtray with a yellow lacquered metal shade.Category
Vintage 1950s European Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Large Green Glass Centrepiece, Belgium, 1970sLocated in London, GBUnique centrepiece in green handblown glass, Belgium 1970s A unique translucent centrepiece made in Belgium in the 1970s This large scale hand blown glass bowl is of a beautiful gre...Category
Vintage 1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsArt Glass
- Murano Sommerso Green and Amber Art Glass Bowl, Italy, 1960sBy Seguso Vetri d'ArteLocated in London, GBSommerso free form art glass bowl / ashtray Stunning handblown glass bowl with organic free form design in green glass. It has an amber glass rim . To be used as decorative bowl, vide-poche or rings bowl. Also interesting for hand soap...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsArt Glass
- Murano Art Glass Green, Clear and Amber Bowl/Videpoche, Italy 1960sLocated in London, GBA very stylish Venetian Murano glass object in triangular shape and a pretty beautiful green and clear colour. with an amber rim. Using the renowned Sommerso technique the bowl has g...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass
- Italian Glass and Brass Saucer Chandelier, 1950sBy Fontana ArteLocated in London, GBThis saucer shaped chandelier is a typical expression of early 1950s Italian design in style of Fontana Arte style UFO chandelier. Top dish is clear glass. Artful brass details emb...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Brass Shell Centrepiece or Vide PocheBy Honoré ParisLocated in Auribeau sur Siagne, FRBrass shell centrepiece or vide poche, it can be used as an ashtray too. In the style Honoré de Paris, Maison Charles.Category
20th Century French Baroque Revival Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsBrass
- Round Bowl or Ashtray in Green Glass Mirrored by Fontana Arte, Italy 1960sBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in Rome, ITRare round bowl or ashtray in green crystal glass and mirrored underside with four concave circle by Fontana Arte. Made in Italy in the 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsCrystal
- Beveled Glass Ashtray by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian beveled glass ashtray by Fontana Arte / Made in Italy circa 1960s Measures: Length 6.75 inches, width 6.75 inches, height 1.25 inches 1 in stock in Palm Springs ON 20...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsGlass
- Beveled Glass Ashtray by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAFontana Arte model "1810" beveled glass ashtray / Made in Italy, circa 1960s Measures: Length 7.5 inches / width 4.6 inches / height 1.25 inches Literature: Quaderno Fontana Arte n.3 (1961), p.30. 1 in stock in Palm Springs ON 20% OFF SALE for $799 !!! Order Reference: FABIOLTD G109...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsGlass
- Green Murano Vide-Poche Bowl or Ashtray with Gold Leaf Accents, Italy, c. 1950By Barovier&Toso, Archimede SegusoLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLMid-Century Modern Venetian glass bowl or ashtray with organic floral form. Exquisitely handblown in hues of emerald green. Bowl has bubble glass b...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsGold Leaf
- Vide Poche Ashtray in Marble Green Color, Italy 1960Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FRThis vide Poche, ashtray is in marble. The color is green. It has been made i, Italy circa 1960, and is in good condition.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Hollywood Regency Ashtrays
MaterialsMarble