Pier Luigi Colli Benches

Pair of Italian Mid-Century Modern neoclassical hammered, wrought iron and gilt benches or stools by Pier Luigi Colli. Original upholstery.

Very fine model of bench by Pier Luigi Colli. Hammered wrought iron and gold leaf . Fully upholstered with a lamb wool and cashmere wool fabric by Bisson Bruneel. The stools and cons...

Stunning pair of Italian Mid-Century Modern hand-hammered and gilt iron benches / stools / poufs / ottomans by Pier Luigi Colli. The pieces show a bold form united by a star form str...

This 1930s Italian bench is so over-scaled, and monumental in appearance, that it seems to have been made for the large room it was destined, rather than the comfort of a typical sitter. As such, it would function equally well as a low side table or a high cocktail table. We’ll allow the buyer to determine its use. The designer was Pierluigi Colli, and the fabricator Martinotti, the Turin furniture and interior decorating firm that was established in 1831, and exhibited at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair. Colli’s family owned a textile company that supplied Martinotti with upholstery fabrics, suggesting nepotism had something to do with his being hired as the firm's director in 1926. Nevertheless, he proved himself worthy as a designer and a businessman. Having studied in Paris at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, he befriended leading French designers, and arranged for Martinotti to retail Lalique glass and Jean Perzel lighting. In addition, the quality of their work, and Colli’s dedication to the modern design movement, prompted Carlo Mollino, Gio Ponti, and Gino Levi-Montalcini, among others, to have Martinotti fabricate some of their furniture. Colli’s claim to fame, however, is his own work as a designer, and his ability to master the vocabularies of every trend from Art Deco to midcentury modern. During the Great Depression, when nearly every nation floundered economically, fascist Italy...