Low table with smoked glass top and chromed structure, Gae Aulenti, Poltronova
About the Item
- Creator:Gae Aulenti (Designer),Poltronova (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 13.78 in (35 cm)Width: 32.68 in (83 cm)Depth: 32.68 in (83 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1964
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU9692239430172
Gae Aulenti
The Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti will forever be best remembered for her work with museums, in particular her 1980–86 renovation of a Beaux Arts Paris train station to create the galleries of the Musée d’Orsay. Aulenti — whose first name, short for Gaetana, is pronounced “guy” — should also be recalled for her tough intellectual spirit and for working steadily when few women found successful architectural careers in postwar Italy.
After she graduated from the Milan Polytechic in 1954, Aulenti opened an architectural office. She also joined the staff of the progressive architectural magazine Casabella, whose editorial line was that the establishment, orthodox modernism of Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus, had outlived it usefulness. When their movement for fresh approaches to architecture and design received a sympathetic hearing, Aulenti found patrons — most prominently Gianni Agnelli, of Fiat, who later employed her to renovate the Palazzo Grassi in Venice for use as an arts exhibition space.
Commissions for showrooms and other corporate spaces brought Aulenti to furniture design. She felt that furniture should never dominate a room. Her chairs and sofas — low-slung, with rounded enameled metal frames and ample seats — and tables, particularly her 1972 marble Jumbo coffee table for Knoll, project solidity and sturdiness. In lighting design, however, Aulenti is bravura.
Each work has a marvelous sculptural presence. Pieces such as her Pipistrello table lamp and Quadrifoglio pendant are a perfect marriage of organically shaped glass and high-tech fixtures. Others have a futuristic elegance — and some even have a touch of personality. Aulenti’s Pileino and La Ruspa table lamps each look almost like little robots. Her lighting pieces are an artful grace note in the career of a woman who believed in strength.
Find vintage Gae Aulenti armchairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Poltronova
Poltronova is known for embracing the creativity that opposites can introduce to a space. Its radical modernist furniture and lighting fixtures are simultaneously grounded in classic aesthetics and inspired by what were then new and provocative artistic movements in mid-century Italy, when the company was founded. This tension resulted in unique and extraordinary pieces at the manufacturer, from eccentric, glove-shaped armchairs to striking dining tables that feature a mix of materials and textures.
Italian designer Sergio Cammilli founded Poltronova in Tuscany in 1957. That same year, it won the Compasso d’Oro for the Panchetto chair designed by Luciano Nustrini. Revolutionary Italian architect Ettore Sottsass — a maestro of postmodern design who would later establish the Memphis Group — came on board as an art director in 1958. Poltronova manufactured many of his furniture and ceramic designs. Sottsass’s lighting, seating and other works for Poltronova showcase the designer’s bold experimentation with solid wood, glass, metal and laminate materials.
Other established names in Italian furniture design collaborated with Poltronova’s Sottsass and Cammilli, including Giovanni Michelucci, Gae Aulenti and Angelo Mangiarotti. However, the company truly set itself apart in its collaborations with Superstudio and Archizoom Associati, groups that were part of an irreverent, avant-garde movement in art and design that took shape during the 1960s in Florence, Turin and Milan. Collectives associated with the movement — which would one day be called Italian Radical design — drew on Pop art and minimalism and explored working with unconventional materials to create colorful, quirky and uniquely shaped objects and furnishings. At the time, Poltronova also worked with up-and-coming names in the art world, like painter Max Ernst and sculptor Mario Ceroli.
Poltronova showcased its groundbreaking designs in many exhibitions, such as “La Casa Abitata,” which was held in Florence in 1965. At Milan's Eurodomus trade show in 1970, Poltronova debuted an entire bedroom collection designed by Sottsass — including his sensuous Ultrafragola mirror. The brand’s furnishings were included in a 1972 exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art called "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape," and in 1977, Poltronova again won the Compasso d’Oro for a book called Fare Mobili con Poltronova (Making Furniture with Poltronova).
Poltronova's enduring and acclaimed furniture designs came to be loved far outside Italy. During the 1960s, importer Charles Stendig represented the company and helped introduce it to the American market.
In 2005, Poltronova established the Centro Studi Poltronova to recreate some of the company's iconic furniture. The brand has also recently collaborated with English architect Nigel Coates, who worked with a Poltronova master craftsman in Italy to design a series of limited-edition furniture in 2011, including the Domo chair.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Poltronova tables, seating, storage cabinets and more.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Glass and metal low table by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte, 1970sBy Fontana Arte, Gae AulentiLocated in Milano, ITLow table by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte, 1970s Iconic low table with wheels, glass top and painted metal forks. Designed by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte. Good condition, signs of...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Round crystal and wooden structure coffee table by Carlo de Carli, 1950sBy Carlo De CarliLocated in Milano, ITRound crystal and wooden structure coffee table by Carlo de Carli, 1950s Carlo de Carli, 1950s Circular coffee table with round crystal top with printed floral pattern, wooden frame...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCrystal
- Bamboo and rattan low table by Vivai del Sud, Italy, 1970sBy Vivai del SudLocated in Milano, ITLow bamboo and rattan coffee table by Vivai del Sud, Italy, 1970s Low bamboo and rattan coffee table produced by the famous company Vivai del Sud in the 1970s Excellent condition ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBamboo
- Marble low table by W. Katavolos, R. Little and D. Kelley by ICF, italy, 1970sBy ICF Group, Douglas Kelly, Ross Littell and William KatavolosLocated in Milano, ITMetal and marble low table by W. Katavolos, R. Little and D. Kelley manufactured by Icf, 1970s low table with metal frame and Calacatta gold marble top. Good condition, signs of ...Category
Vintage 1970s European Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Metal
- Glass table lamp LT 231 by Carlo Nason for Mazzega, Italy, 1970sBy Mazzega, Carlo NasonLocated in Milano, ITTable lamp LT 231 by Carlo Nason for Mazzega, Italy, 1970s Beautiful lamp model LT 231 in glass produced for Mazzega, sphere in transparent colorless and white glass.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsGlass
- Rainbow mirror with irregular glass frame by Nanda Vigo, production Glas ItaliaBy Glas Italia, Nanda VigoLocated in Milano, ITRainbow mirror with irregular glass frame by Nanda Vigo, production Glas Italia Amazing backlit mirror with irregular glass frame by visionary Nanda Vig...Category
1990s Italian Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsGlass, Mirror
- Pair of Glass and Steel Low Tables by Gae AulentiBy Gae AulentiLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn excellent pair of low tables with bent grey glass tops and enameled steel frames by Gae Aulenti.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass
- Locus Solus Blue Low Table by Gae AulentiBy Exteta, Gae AulentiLocated in Milan, ITThis colorful low table first designed by Gae Auelenti for her signature Locus Solus Collection in 1964 is once again available through Exteta. Aulenti's personal tribute to Pop Art, this piece features a vibrant, bright-blue enameled, cylindrical steel structure in a splendid arrangement supporting the exquisite extra-light tempered glass top. This piece will be a stand-out addition to an outdoor space such as a patio, garden, or pool deck...Category
2010s Italian Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsSteel
- Locus Solus Orange Low Table by Gae AulentiBy Exteta, Gae AulentiLocated in Milan, ITThis playful low table from the late great designer Gae Auelenti's eponymous outdoor furniture collection is a truly dazzling piece for any outdoor space. The Pop-Art inspired garden...Category
2010s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Locus Solus White Low Table by Gae AulentiBy Gae Aulenti, ExtetaLocated in Milan, ITThis stunning classic low table belongs to Gae Aulenti's Locus Solus Collection of garden furniture, part of Exteta's recent tribute to the iconic Italian designer and architect. Dyn...Category
2010s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Locus Solus Low Yellow Table by Gae AulentiBy Exteta, Gae AulentiLocated in Milan, ITThis singular and colorful low table from Gae Aulenti's 1960s Locus Solus Collection is a tribute to Pop Art and will serve as a vivacious addition for outdoor furnishings. Featuring...Category
2010s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Locus Solus Green Low Table by Gae AulentiBy Exteta, Gae AulentiLocated in Milan, ITThis cheerful, bright-green low table belongs to the late Gae Aulenti's Pop-Art-inspired collection of garden furniture. The refined, flowing lines of painted cylindrical steel come together in whimsical fashion...Category
2010s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel