An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre.
In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
Ponti's signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.)
Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph, which was written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of vintage Gio Ponti desks, dining chairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Pair of Large Gio Ponti Cherrywood Boiserie Panels from Hotel Royal, Naples 1955
By Gio Ponti, Giordano Chiesa
Located in Rome, IT
A pair of unique Gio Ponti wood panels from the furniture of the Hotel Royal in Naples, 1955. Manufactured by Giordano Chiesa by Dassi. cherrywood thick edge with owl's beak these pi...
Cherry
$450 / set
H 119 in W 11.38 in D 1.75 in
Pair of Antique French Shutter in Old Crumbly Paint From a Chateau in Brittany
Located in BENSENVILLE, IL
Antique pair of French shutters in very old paint removed a long time ago from a chateau located in Brittany. **Width provided is for the wider shutte...
Wood, Paint
$8,950 / set
H 10 in W 92.5 in D 1.5 in
Outstanding Set of 3 16th Century Spanish Ceiling Panels, Beams
Located in Round Top, TX
An outstanding and exceptional set of 3 16th century ceiling panels - beams from Barcelona. Hand hewn solid wood panels beautifully painted. Fabulous architectural elements to incorp...
Wood
Pair of English Gothic Revival Oak Railings
Located in Queens, NY
Pair of English Gothic Revival style (19th Century) oak carved railing panels with open design and finial (PRICED AS Pair).
Oak
$101,862
H 101.19 in W 137.8 in D 19.3 in
19th Century Walnut Pair of Bookcases Boiserie de Bibliothèque
Located in Vosselaar, BE
A rare pair of heliocodal French Directoire library bookcases in solid walnut. This type of bookcases is also known as 'boiseries de Bibliothèque' a...
Walnut
Antique Asian Architectural Relief Carved Stone Frieze Panel
Located in Forney, TX
An exceptional architectural high relief hand carved stone band of running scroll decoration frieze panel, with beautiful scrollwork, representing wind or water, and mythological creature, perhaps a dragon or grotesque griffin. The characters in the center may be Asian hieroglyphs (Japanese kanji). The top side has a dovetail joinery cutout from where it would have attached and fit into place before cementing it in place. 19th century or earlier. This antique architectural salvage building element is a beautiful and artful display of history, and a quick way to add texture, character, rustic charm and interest. Will make a wonderful decorative object within your home or office. Provenance: Personal property of Genshiro Kawamoto. A Japanese real estate billionaire and avid art collector who owned numerous multi-million dollar properties in Hawaii and was building one of the most expensive homes in Hawaii prior to his tax evasion arrest, followed by prison sentence in Japan. He had bought multiple properties to convert into museums in order to display his personal decorative arts collection, but due to his legal and financial problems, his items were all auctioned...
Stone
Pair of Louis XV Period Doors with Boiserie Panels
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
A beautifully timeworn pair of 18th Century French doors accompanied by their original boiserie side panels, removed from a period interior and retaining a wonderfully authentic pati...
Pine
$500,000
H 144 in W 228 in D 199 in
Antique 19th Century French Chateau Oak Paneled Salon Room "Boiserie" circa 1865
Located in New Orleans, LA
A complete boiseries from the French country estate: "Chateau de Quatres Barbes." The antique 19th century French Louis XVI style grand oak paneled salon room...
Marble
Reclaimed 19th century French Provincial Boiserie Panel
Located in Mckinney, TX
A striking mid-19th century French boiserie panel with original pale olive green paint, delicately worn over time to reveal subtle undertones beneath. The carved frame features gra...
Wood
$45,538
H 110.24 in W 701.58 in D 3.94 in
Wood Paneled Room with Trompe L'oeil Library Decoration, Late 20th Century
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
This piece of woodwork was made at the extreme end of the 20th century, around 1985 and comes from a Parisian mansion. It presents a grey paneled decoration enhanced with gold, composed of empty shelves surmounted by cupboards opening with a leaf, or filled with trompe l'oeil books by great authors with old bindings. The shelves are punctuated by protruding ionic columns on rudent pedestals. Three doors give access to the room, two of which are trompe l'oeil, taking up the library decor...
Wood
18th Boiserie Panal
Located in New Orleans, LA
Giltwood and painted panal depicting rural scenery
$92,000
H 114.18 in W 255.91 in D 177.17 in
Mahogany and Fabric Panelled Room, Designed by Jac. van den Bosch
By Jac van den Bosch
Located in Haarlem, Noord-Holland
A rare opportunity to acquire this exquisite panelled room with original wall fabric, circa 1912. This room was designed by Jac. van den Bosch (1868-1948), the wall fabric was design...
Fabric, Mahogany
$9,800
H 50.75 in W 45.38 in D 4.38 in
Exceptional 18th Century Oak Boiserie Panel from Chateau Saint-Maclou, Normandy
Located in Dallas, TX
This fabulous hand-carved boiseries or wooden panel was recently purchased from the Chateau St. Maclou in Normandy, France. Rooms of boiseries had design motifs that were kept the same throughout the entire area that was paneled. For instance, on this panel, there are mainly acanthus leaf motifs used in various areas. A medieval lion...
Oak
Sold
H 31.5 in W 81.5 in D 1.66 in
Pair of Large Gio Ponti Elm Boiserie Panels from Hotel Royal, Naples 1955
By Giordano Chiesa, Gio Ponti
Located in Rome, IT
A pair of unique Gio Ponti wood panels from the furniture of the Hotel Royal in Naples, 1955. Manufactured by Giordano Chiesa by Dassi. elm wood thick edge with owl's beak these pie...
Elm