Lino Sabattini was the preeminent figure in modern Italian silver and metalware design. His expansive and diverse body of work is marked by its strength and boldness, whether in dynamic forms that suggest the thrust and power of Italian Futurist art and design or light and curvaceous biomorphic serveware and decorative objects.
Sabattini was largely self-taught as a designer. Born in the northern Italian town of Correggio, he learned metalsmithing techniques while working in the studio of a maker of brass tableware. He also served as an apprentice of sorts to the expatriate German ceramist Roland Hettner, who taught Sabattini about fluidity of form and showed him how shapes derive from the behavior of materials.
At age 30, Sabattini opened a studio in Milan, and his work quickly came to the attention of Gio Ponti, who decided to publish it in Domus, the Italian design legend's influential design and architecture magazine. Ponti also arranged for Sabattini’s creations to be included in a 1956 exhibition of contemporary Italian design in Paris. The principals of Christofle, the revered French silverware maker, were so impressed that they hired the young designer as the firm’s artistic director, a post he held until 1963. Sabattini, who would also go on to design ceramic wares for Rosenthal, returned home to open Argenteria Sabattini in Bregnano, a company still in business today.
A designer with a questing curiosity and ever-evolving aesthetic sensibility, Sabattini couldn’t be pinned down to one particular style. His best-known work, the Como coffee and tea service of 1956, has an elegant, attenuated and energetic form; his Stairs coffee and tea service (1971), meanwhile, is a clever group of simple columnar shapes in stepped heights, which nest together in a compact arrangement. Other Sabattini pieces have dramatic angles, or sweeping, wing-like flourishes, or consist of perforated ovoids somehow reminiscent of sculptures by Brancusi. In any style, Sabattini produced objects of singular fascination.
Find a range of vintage Lino Sabattini vases and other decorative objects on 1stDibs.
20th Century Gio Ponti and Lino Sabattini Sculpture Diavolo, 1978
By Lino Sabattini, Gio Ponti
Located in Torino, Piemonte
Now thirty, Sabattini moved from Blevio to Milan, where he found a small laboratory with all the essential tools of his craft. His contacts with “Domus” became more frequent. This be...
Metal
20th Century Gio Ponti and Lino Sabattini Sculpture La Luna Strega, 1978
By Gio Ponti, Lino Sabattini
Located in Torino, Piemonte
Now thirty, Sabattini moved from Blevio to Milan, where he found a small laboratory with all the essential tools of his craft. His contacts with “Domus” became more frequent. This be...
Metal
20th Century, Gio Ponti and Lino Sabattini Sculpture Maschera Cornuta, 1978
By Gio Ponti, Lino Sabattini
Located in Torino, Piemonte
Now thirty, Sabattini moved from Blevio to Milan, where he found a small laboratory with all the essential tools of his Craft. His contacts with “Domus” became more frequent. This be...
Metal
20th Century Gio Ponti and Lino Sabattini Sculpture Hands, 1978
By Lino Sabattini, Gio Ponti
Located in Torino, Piemonte
Now thirty, Sabattini moved from Blevio to Milan, where he found a small laboratory with all the essential tools of his Craft. His contacts with “Domus” became more frequent. This be...
Metal
$1,717
H 12.6 in W 3.94 in D 2.37 in
Gio Ponti Silver Metal Sculpture Model Hand 5 Fingers for Sabattini, Italy
By Lino Sabattini, Gio Ponti
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Silver metal model hand 5 fingers designed by Gio Ponti for Sabattini in 1978. Signed. Biography Architect, designer and artist, Gio Ponti (Milan 1891-1979) graduated in Milan in 19...
Metal
$9,500
H 10 in W 8.2 in D 6.2 in
Gio Ponti Ceramic Sculpture" Il Pellegrino Stanco" for Richard Ginori, Milano
By Gio Ponti, Richard Ginori
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great sample of one most important designers of the 20th century, Glazed ceramic, Gio Ponti, made for Richard Ginori and marked S Christoforo, Milano.
Ceramic
20th Century Abstract Bronze Sculpture
Located in Bagshot, GB
A fantastic piece of abstract art in the form of a bronze sculpture. With sharp casting in the form of a shell motif and figurine and with a great verdi gris patina.
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Indonesian Hand-Carved Wooden Hand Sculpture
Located in Honolulu, HI
A captivating mid-20th century miniature hand-carved wooden sculpture originating from Indonesia. Meticulously hand-carved from dense tropical hardwood, this refined art object featu...
Hardwood
$1,946
H 14.57 in W 3.94 in D 2.76 in
"Horned Mask" Gio Ponti by Sabattini Silver Plated 1970s Italian Design
By Gio Ponti
Located in Brescia, IT
"Horned Mask" Gio Ponti by Sabattini, 1978 Openwork metal sheet.
Metal
Gio Ponti “Il Diavolo" Decorative Mask
By Gio Ponti
Located in New York, NY
“Il Diavolo” Gio Ponti large decorative mask for Sabattini. Silver plated. Signed on the bottom.
Silver
20th Century Abstract Marble Sculpture
Located in Denton, TX
Abstract sculpture carved with three different faces is perfect for a center table location or garden.
Marble
$5,000
H 15.25 in W 9 in D 3.25 in
Gio Ponti Design for "Manifattura Rossi" A Bucchero Female Nude Sculpture
By Gio Ponti
Located in CH
Carlo Alberto Rossi (Gubbio, 1903–1970), Manifattura Rossi Female Sculpture after a Gio Ponti Drawing Signed C. A. Rossi, Circa 1940 A remarkable female nude sculpture executed in B...
Ceramic
Gio Ponti “Sabattini “ La luna Strega Silver Metal 1978 Italy
By Gio Ponti
Located in Milano, IT
Sabattini Gio Ponti sculture.
Silver Plate
$2,233
H 13.59 in W 5.12 in D 2.76 in
Original 1978 Gio Ponti Hand Sculpture For Sabbatini *FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY
By Gio Ponti
Located in Portlaoise, IE
Considered by many as being one of the most important and influential designers and architects of the 20th century Acquired are delighted to offer for sale this original Gio Ponti ha...
Silver Plate
Gio Ponti Woman Sculpture in Terracotta 'Attr.'
By Gio Ponti
Located in Milano, IT
Rare terracotta sculpture attributed to the great designer Gio Ponti in the 1950s, fine Italian manufacture. The sculpture is intended to be hung on the wall, as the back is flat. ...
Terracotta
Lino Sabattini Silverplated Bowls 1996
By Lino Sabattini
Located in Čelinac, BA
Silverplated Bowls by Lino Sabattini 1996.
Silver Plate
Lino Sabattini, candlestick
By Lino Sabattini
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Candlestick in silver metal, model Concerto di trombe, by Lino Sabattini for Christofle, Italy circa 1957.
Metal, Silver Plate
Gio Ponti Horse Silver Sculpture with Lino Sabattini for Christofle
By Gio Ponti, Christofle, Lino Sabattini
Located in Hanover, MA
1978 Gio Ponti designed silver plated horse sculpture, titled "Cavallo", edition Lino Sabattini for Christofle, 2008. Very good condition. Comes with original Christofle box and non-...
Silver Plate
Espansione Libero Verde, Lino Sabattini
By Lino Sabattini, Seguso Vetri d'Arte
Located in Uccle, BE
Vase consisting of a base in the form of a large saucer in silvered metal in which a very clear green glass expansion has been blown. The blown...
Glass