Pietro Chiesa Furniture

Amazing midcentury carved crystal glass ashtray. This wonderful item was designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in Italy during 1960s. This piece is unique as it has two carved sides and two straight ones and tone of the crystal, that is a very elegant water marine. A perfect bowl to complete a midcentury-style living room or entrance. Measures (cms): width - 20 depth - 20 height - 2 Pietro Chiesa (1892-1948) was an Italian designer who specialised in modernist and Art Deco designs. Chiesa was one of the founding members of FontanaArte which was established in 1932, and as its artistic director, he designed hundreds of items ranging from furniture to objets d’art. A member of the Swiss Ticino family of artists, Chiesa is best known for his glass furnishing pieces, such as the Fontana table. Fontana Arte (established in 1933) was founded by Luigi Fontana, Gio Ponti, and Pietro Chiesa as a premier producer and marketer of furniture, lighting, and furnishing accessories, and distignuished itself applying the highest standards of glass craftsmanship and techniques. Throughout Fontana Arte’s history, its lamps and furniture have been highly sought after due to their superior glass craftsmanship and innovative design. Saint-Gobain Invests in Luigi Fontanta e Compagni The origins of Fontana Arte go back to 1881, when Luigi Fontana established Luigi Fontana e Compagni to produce and market sheet glass for the construction industry. Luigi’s success as an entrepreneur in the growing Italian construction sector attracted the attention of the French glass-making company Saint-Gobain, which, in 1910, took a majority stake in the ownership of Luigi Fontana e Compagni transforming it into a “Società Anonima” still under the direction of Luigi Fontana. By the mid-1920s, Fontana e Compagni’s capabilities included the creation of artistic stained glass that was mostly used in functional and decorative settings of churches and cathedrals. Gio Ponti Becomes Fontana e Compagni’s Artistic Director In just a few years, the production of such artistic stained-glass products had become of such importance that a different division within the Fontana e Compagni was created to further its development. In 1930, Luigi Fontana met the successful young Milanese architect Gio Ponti, who was then the art director of Richard-Ginori pottery company, and they formed a partnership, under the name of Luigi Fontana SA, for the production of light fixtures, furniture, and furnishing objects. During this initial period, Gio Ponti designed from Fontana Arte the now-iconic 0024 Pendant light (1931) and the Bilia Table Lamp (1931). Pietro Chiesa, Gio Ponti, and Luigi Fontana Found Fontana Arte In 1932, Gio Ponti approached Pietro Chiesa to join him and Luigi Fontana and to become Luigi Fontana SA’s artistic director. In 1933, Pietro Chiesa merged his studio, the Bottega di Pietro Chiesa, with Fontana SA, and together Luigi Fontana, Gio Ponti, and Chiesa founded Fontana Arte. During Chiesa’s tenure as artistic director, Fontana Arte’s production became rich and varied. It included furniture, tables, mirrors, sculptures, and stained glass, but it was certainly in the lighting sector where Fontana Arte excelled by creating lamps and lights with the highest standards in glass craftsmanship and modern designs. From this period came the Luminator floor lamp, the Cartoccio glass vase, and the Fontana Arte table made out of a single band of bent clear glass, (all designed by Pietro Chiesa, in 1932); and the Naska lamp...

Mid-Century Modern square green glass ashtray. This wonderful piece was produced by Fontana Arte in Italy during the 1960s. It is composed of ...

Fontana Arte 1960s Mirrored crystal Perfect condiction Measure: Diameter 16.5 cm, height 2.5 cm.

Rare round bowl or ashtray in green crystal glass and mirrored underside with four concave circle by Fontana Arte. Made in Italy in the 1960s.

Fontana Arte freeform glass ashtray, Italy 1950s

Wonderful pair of crystal ashtrays or pocket emptiers produced by Italian manufacture Fontana Arte in the 1960s. The ashtrays are square and have a central basin, useful for placing...

Made in Italy, 1960s. This vase was designed by Pietro Chiesa and manufactured by Fontana Arte. It is made in transparent etched glass and has a very nice ‘Cartoccio’ (paper bag) sha...

Freeform Fontana Arte 1950s glass ashtray.

A splendid powder colored Pietro Chiesa A Cartoccio glass vase for Fontana Arte, Italy 1930s

Two Incredible Mid-Century Modern square green glass ashtrays. These wonderful pieces were produced by Fontana Arte in Italy during the 1960s. ...

Fontana Arte 1940s glass ashtray.

Vintage Italian beveled glass ashtray by Fontana Arte / Made in Italy circa 1960s Measures: Length 6.75 inches, width 6.75 inches, height 1.25 inches 1 in stock in Palm Springs ON 20...