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Fontana Arte Boxes

Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.

The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.

The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.

Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.

Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Fontana Arte
Cigar Box and Ashtray by Fontana Arte, Italy, 1950
Cigar Box and Ashtray by Fontana Arte, Italy, 1950

Cigar Box and Ashtray by Fontana Arte, Italy, 1950

By Fontana Arte

Located in Palermo, PA

Introducing an exquisite piece of functional art: the Fontana Arte Cigar Box and Ashtray. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, this unique item seamlessly combines the elegan...

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Crystal

Fontana Arte Mod. 2004 Box
Fontana Arte Mod. 2004 Box

Fontana Arte Mod. 2004 Box

$3,319Sale Price|20% Off

Fontana Arte Mod. 2004 Box

By Fontana Arte

Located in Milan, IT

Fontana Arte Mod. 2004 box.

Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Metal

Gio Ponti & Pietro Chiesa, Unique Cigars Box, Fontana Arte, Italy, 1930
Gio Ponti & Pietro Chiesa, Unique Cigars Box, Fontana Arte, Italy, 1930

Gio Ponti & Pietro Chiesa, Unique Cigars Box, Fontana Arte, Italy, 1930

By Fontana Arte, Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa

Located in Firenze, IT

Unique piece. “Grissinato” turned wood box with decorated blue crystal, blue corrugated crystal lid, hand-decorated. “Pipe smoking man” decoration. Designed by masters Gio Ponti &...

Category

1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Crystal, Brass

Box by Fontana Arte, Wood and Glass, 1940s
Box by Fontana Arte, Wood and Glass, 1940s

Box by Fontana Arte, Wood and Glass, 1940s

By Fontana Arte

Located in Brussels, BE

Box by Fontana Arte, Wood and Glass, 1940s

Category

1940s Vintage Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Glass, Wood

Model "2004" Box by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte
Model "2004" Box by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte

Model "2004" Box by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte

By Pietro Chiesa, Fontana Arte

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Lidded box with brass handle manufactured by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Made in Milan circa 1960s. Literature: Quaderni di Fontana Arte

Category

1960s Italian Vintage Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Crystal, Brass

20th Century Fontana Arte Decorative Box in Wood and Glass, 50s
20th Century Fontana Arte Decorative Box in Wood and Glass, 50s

20th Century Fontana Arte Decorative Box in Wood and Glass, 50s

By Fontana Arte

Located in Turin, Turin

FontanaArte is an Italian company founded in Milan (as Fontana Arte) in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Giò Ponti and specializing in glass processing and the production of furnishing acce...

Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Glass, Wood

Fontana Arte Playing Cards Box in Cerused Oak and Glass, Italy 1940s
Fontana Arte Playing Cards Box in Cerused Oak and Glass, Italy 1940s

Fontana Arte Playing Cards Box in Cerused Oak and Glass, Italy 1940s

By Fontana Arte, Pietro Chiesa

Located in Milan, IT

Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte Playing Cards Box in Cerused Oak and Glass, Italy 1940s The Handle depicts two cannons, and the box inside is divided into three compartments to hold p...

Category

1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Fontana Arte Boxes

Materials

Glass, Oak

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Fontana Arte boxes for sale on 1stDibs.

Fontana Arte boxes are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of glass and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Fontana Arte boxes, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original boxes by Fontana Arte were created in the mid-century modern style in italy during the mid-20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider boxes by Aldo Londi, Rosenthal Netter, and Ottaviani. Prices for Fontana Arte boxes can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $1,200 and can go as high as $10,012, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $3,650.
Questions About Fontana Arte Boxes
  • 1stDibs ExpertJanuary 19, 2025
    Painting is the type of art that made Lavinia Fontana famous. Specifically, the 16th-century Bolognese artist became widely known for her portraiture; from her commissions, she could financially support her entire family. Some of her best-known works include Portrait of a Noblewoman and Portrait of the Gozzadini Family. On 1stDibs, shop a diverse assortment of fine art.