Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
The work of celebrated mid-century Italian lighting designer and entrepreneur Angelo Gaetano Sciolari became widely popular in the United States during the postwar years and strongly influenced lighting makers around the world. The sculptural forms and striking geometric details of his vintage floor lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures fit seamlessly into the mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency interiors of the day.
Sciolari formally studied architecture but also pursued filmmaking for a short period. When his father passed away in 1949, Sciolari took the reins at his family's company, Sciolari Lighting, which had been in business in Rome since 1892. The manufacturer expanded considerably under Gaetano’s leadership. For one, pioneering American lighting company Lightolier, in New York City, began to import the Italian brand’s lighting for the U.S. market, and Lightolier’s star designer, Gerald Thurston, was significantly influenced by Gaetano’s work. In the 1970s, Americans looking to add provocative fixtures created by Gaetano Sciolari to their living rooms could find them in Lightolier catalogs.
Sciolari initially crafted lamps and sconces that bore the hallmarks of traditional Italian design. But during the 1950s, when he would become the in-house designer for legendary Milan lighting manufacturer Stilnovo — one of the leaders of Italian postwar design — he created revolutionary fixtures that endured as his best-known work.
Sciolari drew on a range of influences — enthusiasts see the imprint of Art Deco, brutalism and more in his lighting — and designed futuristic Space Age chandeliers, ceiling lamps and pendants for Stilnovo as well as Stilkronen and S.A. Boulanger that defied the conventions of the time. A dizzying array of materials and finishes characterizes the designer’s work, while geometry is pronounced in each sculptural fixture — there are blown opal glass spheres, polished chrome tubes and brass square bulb holders. These combinations were critical to the development of dazzling lighting that proves eye-catching in any space decades later.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Angelo Gaetano Sciolari lighting today.
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Steel, Chrome
2010s Scandinavian Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Metal
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
2010s American Organic Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Plaster, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
2010s French Art Deco Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Organic Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Metal, Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Gold Plate
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Steel, Metal
2010s Scandinavian Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Brass, Bronze, Nickel
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari Decorative Objects
Chrome
