Gae Aulenti Space Age Marble Jumbo Coffee Table for Knoll International, 1969
About the Item
- Creator:Gae Aulenti (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 14.18 in (36 cm)Width: 45.67 in (116 cm)Depth: 45.67 in (116 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1969
- Condition:Minor fading.
- Seller Location:Vicenza, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8019234214312
Jumbo Coffee Table
The Jumbo coffee table was more than just a piece of furniture to Gae Aulenti (1927–2012). As a participant in Italy’s Neo-Liberty movement in the late 1950s, she rejected the omnipresent Bauhaus modernist aesthetic and instead chose to create pieces that exemplified her taste for classical design with a modern edge.
The Jumbo coffee table, with its opulent marble top and sculpted column legs, epitomized Aulenti's approach. Weighing nearly 450 pounds, the table is unquestionably heavy yet it still maintains a graceful air that hearkens back to her adoration for classic Roman architecture. This is a seductive characteristic of her late-career architectural projects, too, such as her conversion of a train station to the Musée d’Orsay — home to one of the world's most important Impressionist art collections — as well as the renovation of Venice’s Palazzo Grassi into an exhibition space.
In 1954, decades before she transformed a Paris landmark transit hub into a museum, Aulenti graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan as one of only two women in her class. She became known for her industrial design work and as a vocal advocate for rejecting postwar Italian architecture. Gianni Agnelli, the chairman of Fiat, was impressed with her passion and commissioned her to design his company’s showrooms in Turin, Zurich and Brussels. Aulenti’s work for Fiat yielded another design opportunity, this time, at Knoll, where she designed the company’s showrooms in Boston and New York City.
In 1972, Knoll began to manufacture the Jumbo coffee table, which Aulenti initially designed in 1965. The company made her table available in three marble finishes: Calacatta, Carrara and Nero Marquina.
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Vicenza, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Eero Saarinen Space Age White Carrara Marble Tulip Table for Knoll, 1967By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Vicenza, ITTulip round dining table designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957 and manufactured by Knoll in 1967. Composed of a white lacquered pedestal and a tabletop...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Eero Saarinen Space Age Marble Tulip Nightstand for Knoll, 1967, Set of 2By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Vicenza, ITPair of Tulip Night Stands designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957 and manufactured by Knoll in 1967. Composed of a white lacquered pedestal and a tabletop made of Carrara Arabescato marb...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Night Stands
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Eero Saarinen Tulip Oval Carrara Arabescato Marble Tulip Table for Knoll, 1967By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Vicenza, ITTulip oval dining table designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957 and manufactured by Knoll in 1967. Composed of a white lacquered pedestal and a tabletop made of ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Carlo Scarpa & Marcel Breuer Naxos Marble “Delfi” Table for Studio Simon, 1969By Carlo Scarpa, Marcel Breuer, Studio SimonLocated in Vicenza, IT“Delfi” dining table, designed by Carlo Scarpa and Marcel Breuer and produced by the Italian manufacturer Studio Simon in 1969. Made of white Nax...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe Bauhaus Coffee Leather Barcelona Daybed for Knoll, 1970By Knoll, Ludwig Mies van der RoheLocated in Vicenza, ITBarcelona daybed, designed by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe in 1929 and manufactured by Knoll International in 1972. Made of chromed steel and leather. Excellent vintage condition. The B...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Bauhaus Daybeds
MaterialsChrome
- Italian Design Coffee Table in The Style of Alanda by Paolo Piva, 1980sBy B&B Italia, Paolo PivaLocated in Vicenza, ITCoffee table in the style of Alanda by Paolo Piva for B&B Italia. Step into the world of timeless elegance with the Alanda Coffee Table, a celebrated artifact that heralded the 80s ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Industrial Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Jumbo marble coffee table by Gae Aulenti for Knoll InternationalBy Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in London, GBThe statement Jumbo coffee table by Gae Aulenti for Knoll International. With its oversized proportions and signature design, this classic piece is in excellent vintage condition. G...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Gae Aulenti, Jumbo coffee table, Knoll International 1965By Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Stockholm, SEStunning ‘Jumbo’ coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by Knoll International, Italy 1965. This example was made in black marquina marble with white veins. This table...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Gae Aulenti Jumbo coffee table black marble Knoll International Italy 1965By Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Etten-Leur, NLImpressive and early edition 'Jumbo' coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by Knoll International, Italy 1965. This example was made in gorgeous black Marquina marble...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Gae Aulenti Calacatta Marble Jumbo Table for Knoll International, circa 1970By Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAJumbo coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti. In excellent vintage condition. Cylindrical marble legs with dynamic veining. Manufactured by Knoll International, circa 1970.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Gae Aulenti Jumbo coffee table Knoll International 1964By Gae AulentiLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantIconic Jumbo coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by Knoll International in Italy in 1964. It's made from gorgeous white Carrara marble, known for its beautiful whit...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Impressive Jumbo Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti for Knoll International, Italy 1965By Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Echt, NLImpressive Jumbo coffee table in very good condition. Designed by Gae Aulenti in the 1960s. Manufactured by Knoll International. This particular table is made from Nero Marquina, ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble