Gio Ponti for Christofle Spherical Silver Plated Vase, 1956
View Similar Items
Gio Ponti for Christofle Spherical Silver Plated Vase, 1956
About the Item
Gio Ponti
An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti (1891–1979) designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, lamps and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre. In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
His signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.) Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of Gio Ponti furniture on 1stDibs.
- Art Deco Vases Red Ceramic and Bronze Paul Milet for Sèvres, 1920By Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Antwerp, BEPair of French red ceramic Art Deco vases or urns with dark red glaze and bronze decorations. Paul Milet (1870-1950) son of Optat Milet. France 1920.Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsBronze
$1,881 Sale Price / set20% Off - Pair of Art Deco Blue Ceramic Vases or Urns Paul Milet for Sèvres France, 1925By Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Antwerp, BEElegant pair of blue Art Deco ceramic vases or urns by Paul Milet for Sèvres. The vases have bronze decorations with a silver patina. They are signed with the artists initials and m...Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsBronze
- Art Deco Blue Ceramic Vase with Fish Handles Gilbert Méténier, France, 1920By Gilbert MetenierLocated in Antwerp, BEBeautiful tall Art Deco vase with fish handles in blue, beige and terracotta brown glazed ceramic. Attributed to Gilbert Méténier. Marked BR for Bou...Category
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
$1,443 Sale Price20% Off - Art Deco Ceramic Vase with Bathing Nudes by Primavera Longwy 1925 FranceLocated in Antwerp, BEArt Deco vase with bathing nudes, peacock and ibex in shades of blue, purple, black and white. Aux Baigneuses. Marked Primavera, Longwy, France 1925. This French Art Deco vase was ...Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Pair of Art Deco vases with flowers Boch Frères La Louvière 1931By Boch Freres KeramisLocated in Antwerp, BEPair of Art Deco vases with flowers and Art Deco pattern in silver and gold on a black shiny glaze by Boch Frères, La Louvière. With Boch Frères stamp. Model number D 1780. Belgium,...Category
Vintage 1930s Belgian Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Pair of Art Deco Ceramic Vases with Flowers by Keramis, Belgium 1932By Boch Freres KeramisLocated in Antwerp, BEPair of Art Deco ceramic vases with flowers by Keramis, Belgium. Turquoise, blue, white and yellow craquelé ceramic. With the Keramis stamp en model number D1558 for the decor. Mark...Category
Vintage 1930s Belgian Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- 1980s Modernist Silver Plated Italian Multi Vase in the Manner of Giò PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Aci Castello, ITA silver plated multi pipes vase designed and manufactured in Italy in the Eighties, good conditions overall. The vase is a striking example of Italian design from that era. Inspired...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Sheffield and Silverplate
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Minimal Vase Sculptural for Christofle 1960 Gio Ponti Silver Plate StyleBy Gio PontiLocated in Palermo, SicilyJacques Sitoleux vase sculptural for Cristofle 1960 Gio Ponti.Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsSilver Plate
$2,143 Sale Price21% Off - Silver “Cardinale” Vase by Lino Sabattini for ChristofleBy Christofle, Lino SabattiniLocated in Los Angeles, CAA slender bud vase in silver plated metal by self-taught metalsmith and designer Lino Sabattini, produced beginning in 1957 by Christofle, the legacy French homewares company where S...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Gio Ponti Christofle Style Brass Vase, Italy 1960sBy Christofle, Gio PontiLocated in Grand Cayman, KYStunning Mid Century Modern organ vase sculpted from brass tubes and brass rods, Gio Ponti for Christofle style. Sourced in Italy and dating to the early 1960s. The vase is construc...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBrass
- "Horned Mask" Gio Ponti by Sabattini Silver Plated 1970s Italian DesignBy Gio PontiLocated in Brescia, IT"Horned Mask" Gio Ponti by Sabattini, 1978 Openwork metal sheet.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsMetal
- Art Nouveau Silver Plated VasesLocated in Hamilton, OntarioCategory
Antique 19th Century Art Nouveau Vases
$1,195 Sale Price / set20% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
Billy Cotton Layers His Interiors with Lived-In Comfort
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.