Ettore Sottsass On Sale
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
Glass, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
Glass, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
Glass, Acrylic
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
Glass, Acrylic
Vintage 1980s British Post-Modern Western European Rugs
Wool
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
1990s European Modern Vases
Brass
2010s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
Plastic
1990s European Modern Vases
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Post-Modern Bookcases
Laminate, Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Marble, Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Table Lamps
Aluminum
Vintage 1980s European Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
2010s Austrian Jugendstil Chandeliers and Pendants
Silk
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
2010s American Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Chrome, Nickel, Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Vases
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Bottles
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Plastic
Vintage 1970s German Space Age Wall Lights and Sconces
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood, Velvet
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sectional Sofas
Chrome
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
Ceramic
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Wall Mirrors
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Lengt...
Marble
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Candlesticks
Brass, Silver Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Formica, Wood
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Scientific Instruments
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Cabinets
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
1990s European Modern Abstract Sculptures
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Plastic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
Plastic, Walnut
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
Porcelain
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Wood
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
Aluminum
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Chairs
Nutwood, Wood
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Tea Sets
Metal
Late 20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
Aluminum
1990s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Post-Modern Sofas
Iron
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Planters and Jardinieres
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Table Lamps
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Umbrella Stands
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Cabinets
Metal
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Coat Racks and Stands
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
Plastic, Rubber
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Glass
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
Murano Glass
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Candlesticks
Brass, Silver Plate
Vintage 1960s Italian Memphis Group Desk Accessories
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Tables
Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Table Lamps
Metal
Late 20th Century American Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Ettore Sottsass On Sale For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Ettore Sottsass On Sale?
Ettore Sottsass for sale on 1stDibs
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.