Bronze discs that open up like clamshells for storage and fold back in to become side tables. Sleek cubes barely suspended off the ground that transform into full-size dining tables. Clean-lined boxes that contain multilevel shelving. Looking at the work of Italian designer Gabriella Crespi, born in 1922 and who still produced furniture in her Milan studio until her death in 2017, it’s hard to believe that many of these highly functional pieces — modernist Rubik’s Cubes of materials, colors and ergonomics — were created decades ago.
Among her best-known creations, the bronze Ellisse table, 1976, and her bronze-and-lacquer Yang-Yin bar, 1979, encapsulate a designer who had a strong dualism in her vision, mixing humble and precious materials, for instance, or creating geometric shapes that were softened by sensual surfaces.
Crespi began studying architecture in 1944 at the Politecnico, in Milan, where she was among just a handful of women, and became profoundly influenced by the work of Charles-Édouard "Le Corbusier" Jeanneret and Frank Lloyd Wright. After getting married and having children, she launched her own collections, from jewelry to furniture, and soon gained a loyal following, with design houses such as Maison Dior snapping pieces up for their own lines.
She began work on her most iconic collection, Plurimi, in the late 1960s, and the series — including her Dama table, which plays on the themes of volume, light and adaptability that Crespi has explored throughout her career — flourished through the 1970s and early ’80s. Then there is her famed Z desk, from a mid-1970s series, which manages to be both stylish and humorous, looking like it’s ready to leap off the floor at any moment. Well-born and beautiful, Crespi garnered attention among the jet set. She was a muse to Valentino, and her pieces appeared in the homes of Princess Grace of Monaco, the Shah of Iran and Greek shipping magnate George Livanos.
In 1987, with her children now adults, the designer surprised everyone when she moved to the foot of the Indian Himalayas to study with the guru Sri Muniraj. This turned into a 20-year self-imposed exile that, if anything, made her pieces even more sought-after by collectors.
Find vintage Gabriella Crespi furniture on 1stDibs.
Signed and Documented Gabriella Crespi "Rising Sun" Collection Planter Box
By Gabriella Crespi
Located in North Miami, FL
This oversized cut bamboo and brass trim square planter with original galvanized metal liner. This is an original vintage Gabriella Crespi piece from her Rising Sun series. Geometric...
Brass
Willy Guhl Petite Box Planters
By Willy Guhl
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great sculptural box planters by Willy Guhl for Eternit. Made of fiber cement. Two with a lot of patina, and two on the cleaner side. Great petite planters. Perfect size. 4 available...
Concrete
$220Sale Price|20% Off
H 2 in W 7.5 in D 6.75 in
California Studio Pottery Signed Ikebana Planter with Frog
Located in San Diego, CA
California studio pottery signed ikebana planter with frog, circa 1990s. The piece measures: 7.5" W x 6.75" D x 2" H and is signed on the underside. #1708.
Pottery
Maroon Kartell Stacking "4695" Planter Box on Wheels, 1980’s
By Kartell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Kartell's Model 4695 planter box is a stacking, wheeled container produced in the 1980s. Molded in a single deep maroon color, the box features clean vertical walls, a thick top rim,...
Plastic
English 19th Century Copper Planter Box
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
A 19th-century English planter box or jardiniere with copper body and brass accents. The copper is nicely patinated inside and out, and its original shape is still intact with no si...
Brass, Copper
Vintage Burnt Bamboo Planter Box, British Colonial Style, 1970s
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Vintage burnt bamboo planter box. Made with large pieces with smaller reeded pieces in between. Very well constructed and strong. In the British Colonial Style.
Bamboo
Vintage Coastal 1950s Lacquered Bamboo Planter Box
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Vintage 1950s import planter box. 100% bamboo construction. Excellent quality especially considering its age and material. Joints are strong. Freshly lacquered.
Bamboo
$2,500 / set
H 9.5 in W 12.5 in D 8.5 in
Pair of Egyptian Revival Bronze Winged Sun Planters Urns, 1920's
Located in Toledo, OH
1920's pair of Egyptian Winged Sun bronze urns or planters. Nice patina with removable tin inserts and double handles. Front and back have Egyptian winged sun symbols. The winged sun...
Bronze
$4,850 / item
H 31.5 in W 22 in D 22 in
Bespoke Modern French Style Steel and Cast Iron Orangerie Planter Box, 22" x 22"
Located in New York, NY
Single Bespoke Large Square French Style steel and cast iron orangerie planter box in lacquered white (as these are custom made to order, customers may request any color from the Benjamin Moore collection). Handcrafted in New Orleans by local metalsmiths using 14 gauge steel and cast iron, using centuries’ old French techniques. Each planter is raised to allow drainage through drilled holes on bottom plate. Corner posts are topped with a pinecone finial, an ancient symbol of open-heartedness. Specially crafted finishes offer durable protection while retaining a unique patina. Each planter is made by hand and is one of a kind. If a different color than lacquered white is preferred, this planter can be customized in size as well as color from the Benjamin Moore Color Chart. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for production for custom orders. Story of the French Orangerie Planter...
Steel, Iron
Modern Cast-Concrete and Solid Walnut "Planter Box"
By Stefan Rurak
Located in Biddeford, ME
This unique planter box is made from a cast-concrete top with a solid wood walnut base. The concrete is finished with an acrylic sealer that maintains ...
Concrete
$3,200Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 25 in Dm 18 in
A Collection of Tilted Planters by Willy Guhl, 1960's, Switzerland
By Willy Guhl
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Collection of Tilted Planters by Willy Guhl, 1960's, Switzerland Large // H 18.5" x D 25" // FDV11408 Small // H 14.5" x D 25" // FDV11513 *Wear consistent with age and use. Col...
Concrete
Italian Modern Rectangular Planter Box or Fioriera of Brass and Chrome
Located in Austin, TX
A fine vintage Italian rectangular garden trough or box planter - also known as a "fioriera" - featuring a Modernist design attributed to Romeo Rega. The planter showing an outer fr...
Metal, Brass
Midcentury Modern Wood & Brass Planter Box
Located in New York, NY
A vintage planter box crafted of wood with four brass caped legs. Dimensions: 42" L x 12" D x 35.75" H
Brass
Rare Gabriella Crespi Airone Sculpture, 1973
By Gabriella Crespi
Located in Munich, DE
A wonderful Airone sculpture by Gabriella Crespi, Italy, 1970s. This stunning art animal object is made of gilt plated brass and the body holds a very large, handblown Murano glass ...
Bronze
Pair of Large Gabriella Crespi Modernist Vases
By Gabriella Crespi
Located in Kilmarnock, VA
Pair of large signed brass and glass vases by designer Gabriella Crespi. Featuring three buttress legs which support a glass test tube like base.
Brass
Gabriella Crespi treebark planter
By Gabriella Crespi
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Stunning Crespi planter in a great combination of tree bark and solid brass. Stamped on base.
Brass