Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, Coffee Table, Italy, circa 1956
About the Item
- Creator:Max Ingrand (Designer),Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)Width: 39.38 in (100 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Brass,Glass
- Place of Origin:Italy
- Period:1950-1959
- Date of Manufacture:1956
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- 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: Milan, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Italian Mid-Century Modern Rationalist Coffee Table, 1950sLocated in Milan, ITItalian Mid-Century Modern Rationalist coffee table 1950s Rare lacquered wood low table in two tiers with a red drawer. This well maintained coffee table is elegant and sleek. Ther...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Nanda Vigo for Vetreria Artistica Macherio, "I Nuovi Barbari" Coffee Table, 1989By Nanda VigoLocated in Milan, ITNanda Vigo for Vetreria Artistica Macherio, extremely rare "I nuovi Barbari" coffee table, 1989. The shattered glass top is held from a stately wooden structure thanks to four mon...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Art Glass, Wood
- Fontana Arte, Italian Midcentury, Glass Chandelier after Pietro Chiesa, 1940sBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Milan, ITEtched glass three-leaf chandelier after Pietro Chiesa, 1940s. The fixture features delicate pieces of milky hand blown glass elements tethered to a gilt brass structure, each of wh...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Ugo La Pietra, Original Prototype of "Itinerari" Wooden Table, 1978By Ugo Lapietra, Ugo La PietraLocated in Milan, ITUgo La Pietra, Original Prototype of "Itinerari" wooden table, 1978 Laquered wood top with handmade enameled drawings. Signed "Ugo La Pietra" on Top. Coded and Archived by Ugo ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Italian Mid-Century Dark Wood Coffee Table, 1950sBy Gianfranco Frattini, Gian Franco FrattiniLocated in Milan, ITItalian mid-century dark wood coffee table 1950s Mid century incredible wooden coffee table with a warm dark colour. Extremely sturdy an...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Italian Mid-Century Modern Wooden Dining Table with Green Glass Top, circa 1950By Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Milan, ITItalian Mid-Century Modern wooden dining table with green glass top, circa 1950 Please note : the "free shipping option" and/or "subsidised shipping option" if stated in the s...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Coffee Table by Max Ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in Vlimmeren, BEThis beautiful coffee table was designed by Max Ingrand and manufactured by Fontana Arte in 1956. The elegant brass legs support the rectangle crystal...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Max Ingrand Coffee Table for Fontana Arte, Mod. 1774, Italy, circa 1958By Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Frankfurt am Main, DECoffee table manufactured in Italy by Fontana Art, Model 1774, designed by Max Ingrand, circa 1958. The base is from curved blackened iron with solid brass profiles attached to the l...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass, Iron
- Max Ingrand Fontana Arte Coffee TableBy Max IngrandLocated in Weesp, NLFontana Arte Mid-Century Modern coffee table by Max Ingrand. Stylish and sophisticated tainted beech coffee table designed by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte in the 1960s. This version ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass
- Coffe table design Max ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in Rovereta, SMMax Ingrand (1908–1969) coffee tables Glass, lacquered metal and brass Edited by Fontana Arte Model created circa 1959 H 40 × W 99 × D 39 cm Bibliography: Domus, No. 361, December 19...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte Rare Modernist Coffee Table Model 2013, 1960sBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYMax Ingrand for Fontana Arte rare modernist coffee table model 2013 with original rectangular crystal glass and central mirrored glass top resting on lacquered brass base with conica...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass, Metal
- Model 1744, Circular Cocktail Table by Max Ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYPainted steel, brass, glass, colored & mirrored glass. A rare & desirable model by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel, Brass