Pair of Silver Plate & Brass Candlesticks by Ettore Sottsass for Swid Powell
View Similar Items
Pair of Silver Plate & Brass Candlesticks by Ettore Sottsass for Swid Powell
About the Item
- Creator:Swid Powell (Maker),Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 13.75 in (34.93 cm)Diameter: 2.75 in (6.99 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1980
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU793431604922
Ettore Sottsass
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.
Swid Powell
The New York City–based tableware company Swid Powell produced some of the most distinctive china and silver of the 1980s in collaboration with international architects and designers. It enjoyed renewed attention in 2007, when the Yale University Art Gallery mounted the exhibition “The Architect’s Table: Swid Powell and Postmodern Design,” celebrating the donation to its collection of the company’s papers.
Swid Powell was established in 1982 by Nan Swid and Addie Powell, who met while working at the modernist furniture company Knoll. Their idea was to translate the aesthetics of postmodern design from the skyscraper to the dining table, and they brought into their preliminary discussions nine prominent architects. Among these were Philip Johnson, Stanley Tigerman and Richard Meier, all of whom expressed enthusiasm about making their designs accessible beyond the small group with the funds to commission buildings from them.
The first Swid Powell collection was launched in 1984, accompanied by a bold, graphic print campaign in keeping with the era’s advertising trends. The company’s best-known collaboration was with Robert Venturi’s Philadelphia-based firm, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, whose patterns — particularly the floral design Grandmother inspired by a tablecloth Venturi saw at the home of a colleague's grandmother — adorned Swid Powell porcelain as well as furniture and clothing.
The firm also partnered with architect Richard Meier, whose geometric designs were inspired in part by those of Josef Hoffmann and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Swid Powell also worked with Arata Isosaki, Ettore Sottsass, Zaha Hadid and George Sowden, creating products that incorporated the bright, saturated colors and popular and historical references, like Classical columns, that animated postmodern design in the 1980s. The Chicago Blue china pattern designed for Swid Powell by the firm Gwathmey Siegel references the distinctive patterns of Frank Lloyd Wright’s leaded glass windows. As you will see in the examples below, Swid Powell continued to produce fine, fashionable homewares throughout the decade and beyond.
- Pair of Single Branch 24-Karat Gold-Plated Bronze Candlesticks by Claude BoeltzBy Claude Victor BoeltzLocated in New York, NYThis stunning pair of Mid-Century Modern candlesticks were realized in France, circa 1970 by the esteemed artisan Claude Victor Boeltz. They offer an exploded form sculpted, by hand,...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsQuartz, Gold, Bronze
- Exquisite Early Victorian Silver Plate Flatware Set for Dessert, Fruit and NutsBy Sheffield Silver Co.Located in New York, NYElaborate silver and mother-of-pearl, silver plate flatware set. Original box with shield crest and fittings and was originally commissioned...Category
Antique 1850s English Early Victorian Sheffield and Silverplate
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Pair of Mid-Century Cala Lily Candle Holders in Silver Plate by Hans JensenLocated in New York, NYThis elegant pair of Mid-Century Modern silver plate Cala Lily candle holders were realized in Denmark by the esteemed maker Hans Jensen circa 1960...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Pair of Art Nouveau Morning Glory Silver Plated CandelabrasLocated in New York, NYThis stunning and graphic pair of Art Nouveau candleholders were realized in the United Kingdom circa 1905. The larger features three trumpet ...Category
Antique Early 1900s English Art Nouveau Candelabras
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Art Deco Silver Plated Ice Bucket W/ Burled Walnut Handle by BoulengerBy Jean PuiforcatLocated in New York, NYThis beautiful Art Deco Silver Plated Ice Bucket by Boulenger originates from France, Circa 1930. Features a faceted handle in burled walnut with a scalloped attachment point and hat...Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Soup Tureens
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Mid-Century Modern Silver Plate Stylized Grape Leaf Decorative DishLocated in New York, NYThis refined Mid-Century Modern silver plate decorative dish was realized in the United States circa 1960. Offering the form of a stylized grape leaf with pointed scalloped sides and...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Ettore Sottsass Candelstick / Candle Holder, Silver Plate for Swid PowellBy Ettore Sottsass, Swid PowellLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is one icon of Post Modern design by the well known architect Ettore Sottsass.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Sheffield and Silverplate
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Pair of Silver Plate & Brass Candlesticks by Ettore Sottsass for Swid PowellBy Ettore Sottsass, Swid Powell, Memphis GroupLocated in Palm Desert, CAA thoroughly modern pair of candlesticks, designed by Ettore Sottsass for Swid Powell, in the signature asymmetrical Memphis style. Sta...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Memphis Group Candle Holders
MaterialsSilver Plate, Brass
- "Moonlight" Candlestick by Ettore Sottsass for Swid PowellBy Swid Powell, Ettore Sottsass, Cleto MunariLocated in Skokie, IL"Moonlight" Candlestick by Ettore Sottsass for Swid Powell A single "Moonlight" silver -plated and brass candlestick designed by Ettore Sottsass for Swid Powell. Sottsass, 1917-2007...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsSilver Plate, Brass
$840 Sale Price20% Off - Pair of Ettore Sottsass Silver Candlesticks for Swid Powell and Reed and BartonBy Swid Powell, Ettore Sottsass, Reed & BartonLocated in Kansas City, MOStriking pair of silver plated candlesticks designed by Ettore Sottsass and made by Swid Powell in collaboration with Reed and Barton, 1980s.Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsSilver
- "Metropolitan" Candlestick by Robert A. M. Stern for Swid PowellBy Swid Powell, Cleto Munari, Robert A.M. SternLocated in Skokie, IL"Metropolitan" Candlestick by Robert A. M. Stern for Swid Powell A single iconic "Metropolitan" silver-plated candlestick designed by Robert A. M. Stern for Swid Powell. Stern, b. 1...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsSilver Plate, Brass
$504 Sale Price52% Off - "King Richard" Candlestick by Richard Meier for Swid PowellBy Swid Powell, Richard Meier, Cleto MunariLocated in Skokie, IL"King Richard" Candlestick by Richard Meier for Swid Powell A single "King Richard" silver-plated candlestick designed by Richard Meier for Swid Powell. Meier, b. 1934, is a noted 2...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsSilver Plate, Brass
$504 Sale Price52% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
We Dare You Not to Smile at These Whimsical Italian Designs
Make anyplace your happy place with Italian furniture at its subversive best.
20th-Century Design Shines at the High Style Deco Auction
New York furniture dealer Howard Williams not only has an eye for top-notch pieces from a range of eras but also meticulously restores them to their original glory.