In 1946, at the start of a postwar boom in Europe, Enrico Cappellini opened the doors to a small furniture studio in the Italian town of Carugo. But it wasn’t until his son joined the company nearly three decades later that Cappellini became a powerhouse fixture on the global design stage. Today Cappellini is one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of innovative chairs, tables and decorative objects.
Giulio Cappellini joined the family company in 1977 and, with his appointment, ushered in a stage of boundary-pushing modernism and prolific creativity at Cappellini. With a dual background in architecture and business management, Giulio was well equipped to steer the brand into both innovative design and economic growth in a rapidly globalizing economy.
The second-generation leader’s first major success came in 1981, with the launch of Sistemi, a modular, hyperfunctional storage system that would come to symbolize the chic functionality of Cappellini. That was quickly followed by a collaboration with renowned Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata for the Progetti Compiuti collection, a line that brought unexpected playfulness to the simple framework of a black-and-white cabinet and remains an iconic collectible today.
That first collaboration opened the doors to a prolific output of partnerships, with Cappellini tapping such star designers as Jasper Morrison, Marcel Wanders, Tom Dixon, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Nendo for collections over the ensuing decades that spanned a range of materials and styles. Speaking to this range, Marc Newson’s plumply curvaceous 1988 Embryo chair, Jasper Morrison’s slightly arachnoid 1987 Thinking Man’s chair and Tom Dixon’s sculptural 1991 S-chair — each quite stylistically unique — remain some of the company’s most recognizable pieces, with the latter in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Cappellini, now headquartered in Milan, continues to partner with guest designers across furniture, storage and lighting solutions, though many of its 1970s and ’80s designs remain its most coveted today.
Find vintage Cappellini furniture on 1stDibs.
Centerpiece for Artificial Flowers Cappellini - Dal Mondo design Paola Navone
By Paola Navone, Cappellini
Located in Alcamo, IT
Brand: Cappellini Collection: From the World Designer: Paola Navone Product: Decorative Centerpiece for Artificial Flowers The Dal Mondo centerpiece, designed by Paola Navone for Ca...
Metal
$2,339 / item
H 21.26 in Dm 13 in
Vase Vessel Ceramic Centerpiece Ornament Aquamarine Majolica Flower Holder Italy
By deBlona
Located in Recanati, IT
Large majolic vase in green aquamarine color, glazed in polychrome, characterized by the elegant presence of naturalistic ornamental motifs that enhance its forms beautifully. Its po...
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Designed By Jane Hutcheson for Gorham Gilt Porcelain Enamel Flower Basket
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
"BLOOMING BEAUTIFULLY FROM HERE TO ETERNITY….." Gorham’s Fleurs des Siècles basket of flowers designed by Jane Hutcheson Gold gilt porcelain flower basket...
Enamel
$2,376Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 23.2 in Dm 19.7 in
"Giova" Table Lamp + Flower Pot Designed by Gae Aulenti for FontanaArte
By Fontana Arte, Gae Aulenti
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Giova" is a refined table lamp and flower pot hybrid piece of design, designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by FontanaArte, featuring a chromed metal base, a middle globe in transparent blown glass, an inner globe in polished white opaline glass, an upper half-sphere in pink blown glass with decorative bubbles, black power cable, plug and switch. Its lighting source is 1 x 100W 230V E27 (HA, FL, LED). DIMENSIONS: Ø 19.7", H. 23.2" "Giova" marks the debut of Gae Aulenti in the field of lighting design. Available in two sizes, it is both a lamp and a luminous sculpture. Placed on a metal base, a transparent bowl containing a sphere of white opal glass, which in turn houses the light source. Placed above there's a smaller bowl in blown "pulegoso" glass, meaning "with irregular bubbles", which serves as a flower vase. Now also available with gray "pulegoso" glass and a gold finished base. GAE AULENTI graduated from Milan Polytechnic in 1953 and since 1956 has been working there designing for architecture, interior and industrial design and theatre scenery. In the early eighties she was the artistic director at FontanaArte, creating timeless lamps and furnishing elements for the company that are still in the catalogue. In particular: Giova lamp...
Metal, Gold, Chrome
$760
H 18.12 in W 28.35 in D 28.35 in
Slide Design Cubic Yo Pot on Wheels in Jet Black by Giulio Cappellini
By Giulio Cappellini, Slide
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Cubic Yo is a pot with a linear but at the same time irregular design: the various parallelepipeds from which it is made create movement to the whole shape with elegance and essentia...
Plastic
Mini Centerpiece, Wiener Werkstätte, Design by Josef Hoffmann, Austria
By Wiener Werkstätte
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
An exquisite mini centerpiece in silver-plated metal, produced by the Wiener Werkstätte in Austria around the 1910s and 1920s, and attributed to the design of Josef Hoffmann (1870–19...
Metal
Large Majolica Bird & Flowers Basket Centerpiece, circa 1880
Located in Austin, TX
Unique large Majolica bird & flowers basket centerpiece, circa 1880. Roses, blue and yellow flowers. Impressionist period.
Ceramic
$10,967Sale Price|25% Off
H 27.17 in W 19.69 in D 16.93 in
Twenty-Seven Woods for a Chinese Artificial Flower Vase L by Ettore Sottsass
By Design Gallery Milano, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Twenty-seven woods for a Chinese artificial flower vase L by Ettore Sottsass, Edited by Design Gallery Milano, 1995. Limited edition of 12 signed and numbered pieces, number 3/12...
Glass, Wood
Porcelain Urn Centerpiece Leaf Design
By Chelsea House
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful decorative three (3) piece set. A white porcelain urn with green leaf design from Chelsea House, Inc., circa late-20th century to early-21st century. Set includes underpl...
Porcelain
Paola Navone Egizia Italian Art Glass Vase, 2010s
By Paola Navone
Located in LOS ANGELES, CA
Huge Paola Navone Egizia Italian Art glass vase Additional information: Materials: Art Glass Color: Black Brand: Egizia Designer: Paola ...
Art Glass
$8,500 / item
H 30 in W 20 in D 19 in
Ettore Sottsass Vases from 27 Woods for a Chinese Artificial Flower
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Kansas City, MO
Two large vases by Ettore Sottsass from 27 woods for a Chinese Artificial flower. Edition S (red) is SOLD. Each from the edition of 12. From...
Brass, Gold Leaf
$286 / item
H 9.85 in W 7.88 in D 0.79 in
21st Century ‘Sculptural Flowers - Dal', Ceramic Vase, Handcrafted in France
By Inhee Ma
Located in Marchaux-Chaudefontaine, FR
'Sculptural Flowers - Dal' handmade white ceramic vase This vase is part of a new series inspired by flowers (and more generally organic elem...
Clay, Stoneware
$924
H 5.71 in Dm 4.73 in
Wilhelm Kåge 'Argenta' Vase for Gustavsberg, 1940s – Silver Inlaid Flower Design
By Gustavsberg, Wilhelm Kage
Located in Göteborg, SE
Wilhelm Kåge Argenta vase for Gustavsberg, made in Sweden in the 1940s. This vintage ceramic vase features a deep green glaze and an elegant silver inlaid flower design. A fine examp...
Silver
Jasper Morrison for Cappellini Large Green Glass Vase
By Progetto Oggetto, Jasper Morrison, Cappellini
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Designed for Cappellini’s Progetto Oggetto line in 1993, this large vase by Jasper Morrison (b. 1959) is tall and slender with a gently expanding base where the vase touches its rest...
Glass
Jasper Morrison Cappellini Large Glass Vase
By Cappellini, Progetto Oggetto, Jasper Morrison
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Designed for Cappellini’s Progetto Oggetto line in 1993, this large vase by Jasper Morrison (b. 1959) is tall and slender with a gently expanding base where the vase touches its rest...
Glass