What is Achille Castiglioni famous for?

Achille Castiglioni is famous for his work as a designer and architect. The Milanese designer sought to inject personality into all of his work and found deep inspiration in everyday objects. A legend of Italian mid-century modernism, he created iconic, universally loved table lamps, chairs and other lighting and furniture with his like-minded brothers during the postwar years. Some of his most well-known pieces include the Arco lamp, the Snoopy lamp and the Taraxacum hanging lamp. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Achille Castiglioni furniture.

Achille Castiglioni Cocoon

1960 Italian Pendant Light

Resin Pendant Lamp

Cocoon Chandelier

Goldkant Leuchten

Midcentury Cocoon Pendant Light

Sella Stool

Materials

Resin

H 40.16 in Dm 16.54 in

Vintage Cocoon Tripod Floor Lamp with Brass Accents, 1960s

By Achille Castiglioni

Located in Linkebeek, BE

Style Achille Castiglioni's lamps Measures : Ø 42cm H:102cm Materials : Brass, Metal, cocoon Plastic Beautiful mid-century tripod cocoon floor lamp from the 1960s.

Category

20th Century Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Metal, Brass

Recent Sales

1960s Large Pendent in Cocoon, Attributed to Achille Castiglioni

Unavailable

H 29.53 in Dm 25.6 in

1960s Large Pendent in Cocoon, Attributed to Achille Castiglioni

By Achille Castiglioni

Located in London, GB

Elegant large and rare pendent attributed to Achille Castiglioni in coated cocoon, perfect condition

Category

Vintage 1960s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants

Materials

Metallic Thread

Cocoon Lamp by Castiglioni circa 1960

Unavailable

H 23.63 in Dm 19.69 in

Cocoon Lamp by Castiglioni circa 1960

By Achille Castiglioni

Located in Biarritz, FR

Important and rare cocoon lamp on a plastic foot Inside in steel frame with an injected polymer latex cocoon diffuser no cracks , perfect condition

Category

Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps

1970s Vintage Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achile Castiglioni

Unavailable

H 13 in W 14.97 in D 14.97 in

1970s Vintage Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achile Castiglioni

By Achille Castiglioni

Located in DARLINGTON, WA

Beautiful 1970s vintage cocoon pendant lamp by Achile Castiglioni in excellent condition.

Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants

Materials

Silk

1970s Vintage Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achile Castiglioni

Unavailable

H 10.63 in W 16.93 in D 16.93 in

1970s Vintage Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achile Castiglioni

By Achille Castiglioni

Located in DARLINGTON, WA

Gorgeous 1970s vintage cocoon pendant lamp by Achile Castiglioni made in Italy in excellent condition

Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants

Materials

Silk

Sold

H 15.75 in Dm 15.75 in

Cocoon Pendant by Achille & Pier Castiglioni for Flos

By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni

Located in Doornspijk, NL

The Cocoon was designed by Achille & Pier Castiglioni in the 1960's.

Oak

Classic Empire Center Table, Oatmeal

$2,820 / item

H 30 in W 42 in D 42 in

Classic Empire Center Table, Oatmeal

Located in Westwood, NJ

A Classic Empire style grey cerused oak oatmeal stained center table with a carved ogee edge, raised on an octagonal pedestal base. Dimensions: 42" W x 42" D x 30" H. Clearance: 27"

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Empire Center Tables

Materials

Wood

Ethnic Straw Armchair by +55design Brazilian Design with Indigenous Craft

$2,860 / item

H 29.93 in W 23.63 in D 23.63 in

Ethnic Straw Armchair by +55design Brazilian Design with Indigenous Craft

By Neca Abrantes

Located in Jardim America, SP

This rotating armchair by Neca Abrantes is a striking fusion of contemporary Brazilian design and indigenous handcrafted traditions. Known for her deep passion for native craftsmansh...

Category

2010s Brazilian Swivel Chairs

Materials

Straw

Leather Meander Flexible Wall Sconce

$975 / item

H 16 in W 5 in D 12 in

Leather Meander Flexible Wall Sconce

Located in Pound Ridge, NY

Leather wrapped flexible arm wall light you can pose and adjust as you wish. This is our updated Meander Reader light with larger cone shade and new upward angled arm. Lamping: Sing...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Wall Lights and Sconces

Materials

Metal, Brass, Nickel

Rosso Wall Mirror

$1,395 / item

$1,550 / item

H 10 in W 7 in D 7.875 in

LU Louis Sconce AS

By Lumfardo Luminaires

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Handsome LU Louis sconce AS. An all brass wall sconce in an aged silver finish with patterned perforations by Lumfardo Luminaires. Made contemporary in the US. Multiples available fo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights a...

Materials

Brass, Nickel

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Achille Castiglioni Cocoon For Sale on 1stDibs

Choose from an assortment of styles, material and more with respect to the achille castiglioni cocoon you’re looking for at 1stDibs. A achille castiglioni cocoon — often made from organic material, resin and fabric — can elevate any home. Your living room may not be complete without a achille castiglioni cocoon — find older editions for sale from the 20th Century and newer versions made as recently as the 21st Century. Each achille castiglioni cocoon bearing Mid-Century Modern or Modern hallmarks is very popular. You’ll likely find more than one achille castiglioni cocoon that is appealing in its simplicity, but Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni and Flos produced versions that are worth a look.

How Much is a Achille Castiglioni Cocoon?

Prices for a achille castiglioni cocoon can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, they begin at $251 and can go as high as $10,500, while the average can fetch as much as $1,495.

A Close Look at Mid-century-modern Furniture

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.

ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Emerged during the mid-20th century
Informed by European modernism, Bauhaus, International style, Scandinavian modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture
A heyday of innovation in postwar America
Experimentation with new ideas, new materials and new forms flourished in Scandinavia, Italy, the former Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe

CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

Simplicity, organic forms, clean lines
A blend of neutral and bold Pop art colors
Use of natural and man-made materials — alluring woods such as teak, rosewood and oak; steel, fiberglass and molded plywood
Light-filled spaces with colorful upholstery
Glass walls and an emphasis on the outdoors
Promotion of functionality

MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

Charles and Ray Eames
Eero Saarinen
Milo Baughman
Florence Knoll
Harry Bertoia
Isamu Noguchi
George Nelson
Danish modernists Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, whose emphasis on natural materials and craftsmanship influenced American designers and vice versa

ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.

Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.

Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.

Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.

The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.

Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Finding the Right Lighting for You

The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.

Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.

Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat.

Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.

As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.

There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation.

With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.

The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.

This Paavo Tynell Chandelier Is a Radiant Bouquet

The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.

Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?

Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.

See How New York City Designers Experiment on Their Own Homes

There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.

Jeff Andrews Captures Old Hollywood Glamour in His Cinematic Spaces

Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.

New Orleans’ Lee Ledbetter Makes Design Magic by Mixing Past and Present

The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.

Desert Modern Designer Arthur Elrod Finally Gets His Day in the Sun

The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.