Fontana Arte Hand mirror
View Similar Items
Fontana Arte Hand mirror
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 5.04 in (12.8 cm)Width: 9.38 in (23.8 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960's
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU9527821515
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.
- Max Ingrand Wall Mirror for Fontana Arte, Italy 1960sBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITSplendid Max Ingrand wall mirror model 2085 for Fontana Arte, Italy 1960s Reference: Quaderni Fontana Arte No.6 p.156.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Splendid Hand Mirror, European, 1900sLocated in Milan, ITSplendid double sided hand mirror, European, 1900s.Category
Antique Early 1900s European Biedermeier More Mirrors
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Italian mirrored glass Vide_Poche attributed to Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITItalian mirrored glass Vide_Poche attributed to Fontana Arte Beautifully beveled glass.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsMirror
- Fontana Arte Mod. 2004 BoxBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITFontana Arte Mod. 2004 box.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
MaterialsMetal
- Fontana Arte 1940s Glass AshtrayBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITFontana Arte 1940s glass ashtray.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Freeform Fontana Arte 1950s Glass AshtrayBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITFreeform Fontana Arte 1950s glass ashtray.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass
MaterialsGlass
- Italian Fontana Arte Inspired Blue MirrorBy Cristal Arte, Fontana ArteLocated in Houston, TXItalian Fontana Arte inspired blue mirror. This stunning unusually shaped Italian modern blue mirror has a deep blue border with a silver...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- Italian Fontana Arte Style Curved Glass MirrorBy Fontana Arte, Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Fontana Arte style curved glass mirror. Stunning rectangular mirror superimposed on a large curved quadrangular beveled green glass...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsGlass, Mirror
- Italian Fontana Arte Style Golden Yellow MirrorBy Fontana Arte, VECA, Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Fontana Arte style golden yellow mirror. This stunning Italian midcentury Pietro Chiesa inspired mirror is made of an unusually shap...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsGlass, Mirror
- Fontana Arte "Luigi Fontana" Mirror Glass Brass, 1940, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte “Luigi Fontana“ mirror brass glass, 1940, Italy.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Other More Mirrors
MaterialsGlass
- Midcentury Mirror in the Style of Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITBeautiful oval wall mirror designed and made in the 1950s in the style of Fontana Arte, given the colours and shapes. Free shipping is included in the price. The mirror has a very eclectic oval shape that frames the central round mirror. The frame is made of a beautiful electric blue art glass, very elegant and contemporary. On the side we see decorative appliqués...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsArt Glass, Mirror
- Large Italian Fontana Arte Style Round Beveled MirrorBy Fontana Arte, Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXLarge Italian Fontana Arte style round beveled mirror. Stunning large round Italian Fontana Arte inspired round beveled mirror. This beautiful Mid-C...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror