Giuseppe Armani For Capodimonte

If success is measured by lasting name recognition, Capodimonte porcelain would seem to be in the same league as such makers as Meissen, Sèvres and Wedgwood. Early examples of Capodimonte lamps — as well as the Italian manufacturer’s celebrated porcelain vases, figurines and sculptures — can be hard to come by, but the best later pieces possess the same over-the-top charm.

The Real Fabbrica (“royal factory”) di Capodimonte hasn’t actually produced porcelain since the early 19th century, when Charles’s son Ferdinand sold it. Although secondary manufacturers have built upon the aesthetic and kept the name alive, some connoisseurs of the royal product feel these pieces should be labeled “in the style of” Capodimonte.

The timeline of royal Capodimonte porcelain is decidedly brief. From beginning to end, its manufacture lasted approximately 75 years. King Charles VII of Naples, who founded the manufactory in 1743, began experimenting with porcelain around 1738, the year he married Maria Amalia of Saxony. No coincidence there. His new bride was the granddaughter of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and founder of Meissen, the first European hard-paste porcelain manufactory. Her dowry included 17 Meissen table services.

Struck by porcelain fever, Charles built a dedicated facility on top of a hill (capo di monte) overlooking Naples. He financed expeditions to search for the right clay. He hired chemists and artisans to experiment. His earliest successes were small white snuffboxes and vases, although efforts soon progressed to full sets of tableware, decorative objects and stylized figurines of peasants and theatrical personalities.

In 1759, Charles succeeded to the throne of Spain. He moved the manufactory with him — including 40 workers and 4 tons of clay — and continued operations in Madrid. Twelve years later, his son Ferdinand IV, who inherited the throne of Naples, built a new factory there that became known for distinctly rococo designs.

The Napoleonic wars interrupted production, and around 1807, oversight of the royal factories was transferred to a franchisee named Giovanni Poulard-Prad.

Beginning in the mid-18th century, porcelain made by Charles’s factory was stamped with a fleur-de-lis, usually in underglaze blue. Pieces from Ferdinand’s were stamped with a Neapolitan N topped by a crown. When secondary manufacturers began production, they retained this mark, in multiple variations. The value of these later 19th- and 20th-century pieces is determined by the quality, not the Capodimonte porcelain marks.

Find antique and vintage Capodimonte porcelain for sale on 1stDibs.

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

• Eames lounge chair
• Nelson daybed
• Florence Knoll sofa
• Egg chair
• Womb chair
• Noguchi coffee table
• Barcelona chair

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.

Figurative sculpture is a modern art form in which artists create work that is typically representative of the visible world. However, sculptures that are considered to be figurative in style can definitely be inclusive of abstract elements. A wide range of antique, new and vintage figurative sculptures has been made over the years by both well-known and emerging artists, and these pieces can prove striking and provocative as part of your home decor.

Realistic representation in visual art has a very long history. And while figurative artists, whether figurative painters or sculptors, find inspiration in humans, animals and real-life objects, good figurative sculptures can make us think differently about how the real world should look. Just as figurative paintings might include Photorealistic human likenesses, they can also include elements of Surrealism and can suggest a creative and alternative reality. Figurative sculptures aren’t always realistic impressions of our world — depictions of the human form in classical Greek sculpture, for example, might emphasize beauty and physical perfection.

There are a variety of figurative sculptures on 1stDibs created by artists working in a number of styles, including Art Deco, Art Nouveau, mid-century modern and more. A large figurative sculpture can introduce an excellent focal point in a guest bedroom, while smaller works might draw the eye to spaces such as wall shelving or a bookcase that people may otherwise overlook.

When decorating your living room, dining room, home office and study areas with figurative sculptures, don’t be afraid to choose bold colors to inject brightness into neutral spaces. Texture is another factor to consider when purchasing figurative sculptures. A highly textural work of ceramics or wood will catch the eye in a sleek modern space, whereas a smooth, flat glass sculpture can offer an often much-needed contrast in a room that already has many textures.

On 1stDibs, find antique, new or vintage figurative sculpture or other kinds of sculpture for your home decor today.