Vintage Bean Shaped Patterned Sofa by Gio Ponti, Italy, Certified
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 66.93 in (170 cm)Depth: 30.71 in (78 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Bresso, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2293330328692
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Bresso, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Vintage Irregular Shaped Wood Veneer Coffee Table Ascribable to Gio Ponti, ItalyBy Gio PontiLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1950s. This irregular shaped coffee table is made in cherry veneer. It is a vintage item, therefore it might show slight t...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCherry
- Vintage Large Beige Sofa by Ico Parisi, ItalyBy Ico ParisiLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1950s. A model like this one but with different feet has been published on a catalogue. This sofa is upholstered in beige fabric, which makes it ready to be covered w...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage Bamboo Sofa, Made in ItalyLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1960s. It is made in bamboo. This sofa is a vintage item, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it can be considered as in excellent original condition a...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBamboo
- Monumental Wooden Cabinet with Parchment Panels by Gio Ponti, ItalyBy Gio PontiLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1950s. It features parchment panels and it is made in a rare exotic wood. Its bar part features mirrored glass interiors. This is a vintage piece, therefore it might s...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsBrass
- Vintage Ivory Lounge Chair in the Style of Gio Ponti, ItalyBy Gio Ponti, Casa e GiardinoLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1940s. This piece is ascribable to Gio Ponti for Casa e Giardino for its incredible design. The fabric is from the 60s and in excellent original condition. This loung...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
MaterialsFabric
- White Lacquered Ceramic Dessert Plate by Ginori Ascribable to Gio Ponti, ItalyBy Richard-Ginori San Cristoforo, Gio PontiLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1928. This is a white lacquered ceramic dessert plate marked by Ginori R. S. C. In that period Gio Ponti was the director of the company and it is likely that he des...Category
Vintage 1920s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsCeramic
- Gio Ponti Dezza SofaBy Gio Ponti, Poltrona FrauLocated in Meulebeke, BETwo seat "Dezza" sofa by Gio Ponti Produced by Poltrona Frau. Designed in 1965, the Dezza sofa is some of Gio Ponti’s most important designs. The Dezza sofa is light and very com...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Rare Gio Ponti SofaBy Gio PontiLocated in Waalwijk, NLGio Ponti sofa, Pierre Frey fabric and walnut, Italy, 1960s Stunning sofa by Gio Ponti. This particular sofa breathes the luxurious feel of well-balanced Italian furniture designs o...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Gio Ponti curved sofa by Casa e Giardino, Italy, 1940sBy Casa e Giardino, Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA rare and beautiful curved sofa with a wooden frame and fabric upholstery, designed by Gio Ponti for "Casa e Giardino", manufactured in Italy in the 1940s. In Gio Ponti's ideal hom...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- Angular Vintage Velvet Sofa by Gio Ponti with CertificateBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITEccentric vintage grey corner sofa designed by the great Gio Ponti in the 1950s, of fine Italian manufacture. The sofa is fully upholstered in grey v...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsVelvet
- Gio Ponti Sofa, Casa E Giardino, Italy, 1930s/1940sBy Casa e Giardino, Gio PontiLocated in London, GBGio Ponti Sofa, produced by Casa e Giardino Milan, Italy, 1950s. Newly reupholstered with traditional sprung base and new light grey / silver velvet fabric.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsBeech, Fabric
- Ultra Rare Gio Ponti SofaBy Gio PontiLocated in Munich, DEFoam and fabric redone designed by Gio Ponti in 1958 for the hotel Parco Dei Principe in Sorrento, Italy. Made by Cassina in limited quantities.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsWood
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.