Architect, urban planner, glass, furniture and landscape designer, and interior decorator — Tomaso Buzzi was a 20th-century renaissance man. Buzzi, along with his frequent collaborator Gio Ponti, led Italy’s Novecento Milanese movement of the 1920s and ‘30s — an approximate equivalent to France’s Art Deco movement. While Buzzi is prized for chairs, tables and other furnishings that modernized the majestic lines of 18th-century designs, he is best known for the remarkable, jewel-toned glassware he produced in a two-year stint as the artistic director of the Venini glassworks on the Venetian island of Murano.
Buzzi was born in 1900 in the town of Sondrio in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. He studied at the Milan Polytechnic, and soon after he graduated joined a lively Milanese decorative arts scene. In 1927, he and Ponti joined fellow designers Paolo Venini and Michele Marelli to form a design collaborative called Il Labirinto (the Labyrinth), Italy’s answer to the Wiener Werkstätte. In 1932, when Venini's glass company lost the design services of the sculptor Napoleone Martinuzzi, who left to start his own factory, he turned to Buzzi. The young architect’s careful study of lighting design and a love for experimentation yielded major innovations in Murano glass fixtures. The forms of his wares were inspired by sources from antiquity as diverse as Persian urns and animal-shaped Etruscan jugs. Buzzi developed a complex glass-layering method that produced deep, glowing pastel colors that ran from pink to peach, to sea-green and slate blue.
Buzzi furniture has a noteworthy elegance and nobility. Delicate chairs with arrow-shaped backs and elaborate burled wood armoires are typical of his aesthetic, and would add a sophisticated note to any room, modern or traditional. And an exemplary piece of Buzzi’s vibrant, lustrous glassware would merit a place of honor in every design collection.
20th Century, Tomaso Buzzi Set of Three Plant Holder
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in Turin, Turin
Tomaso Buzzi (1900-1981), a figure of great humanistic and literary culture, distinguished himself as one of the main designers of the Italian twentieth century, garden architect, re...
Wrought Iron
Vintage Italian Bamboo Plant holder 1970s
Located in Palermo, IT
Vintage Italian bamboo plant holder, 1970s Purchased by my parents, it is in good condition, with small signs of wear. The sale refers only to the ...
Bamboo
$1,440Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 19.5 in W 10.5 in D 10.5 in
Brutalist Inspired Pair of Mixed Stone Planters, 20th Century
Located in South Salem, NY
This striking pair of large planters draws inspiration from the bold aesthetics of Brutalist design. Crafted with a fusion of mixed stone and concrete, these planters showcase a rugg...
Concrete
Pair of Willy Guhl Eternite, Mid-20th Century Planters
By Willy Guhl
Located in Atlanta, GA
A pair of eternite planters attributed to Willy Guhl, mid-20th century. This pair of rectangular-shaped planters are a nearly perfect pair, only noticeable difference being that one ...
Cement
20th Century Italian Marble Set of Planters
Located in Dallas, TX
Beautifully detailed white marble planters featuring flower design along the sides. Items are sold as a set of two. Origin; Italy.
Marble
19th Century Antique French Three-Tier Half Round Plant Stand
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique French large three tier design half round garden plant stand, in good condition. This plant holder is made of white wire metal, 2-tier 6" in width and the top has a 7" rou...
Metal, Wire
20th Century French Wrought Iron Plant Pot Stand
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
20th Century French wrought iron multi-tier plant stand / florist’s display. Formed with graduated circular tiers and multiple ring holders for individual pots, raised on four splay...
Iron
Victorian Six Pot Plant Holder, White Cast Iron, 19th Century England
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
An antique Victorian period six pot plant holder in white painted cast iron with perforated plates, in good condition. Geometrical decoration on scroll cast iron frame adorned by fol...
Metal, Iron
$1,900
H 34.25 in W 26.38 in D 7.87 in
20th Century Art Nouveau Thonet Flower Tub / Plant Stand, Bentwood, AT ca 1915
By Thonet
Located in Lichtenberg, AT
Beautiful, timeless bentwood plant stand or flower tub made by the famous company of Thonet Vienna. A unique shaped piece from the renowed company in Austria around 1915. Superbly de...
Metal
Early 20th Century Root and Twig Tabletop Plant Stand
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Early folky twig and root tabletop stand in great condition. This cool three-leg planter is so well made and has a great worn patina. It is very strong ...
Twig
Mid-Century Italian Rattan and Bamboo Flower Stand Plant Holder, 1950s
By Vivai del Sud
Located in Roma, IT
Beautiful Mid-Century flower or plant stand in curved rattan, bamboo and wicker. This lovely object was designed in Italy in the 1960s and is attributed to Vivai del Sud. This magni...
Bamboo, Wicker, Cane, Rattan
Mid 20th Century French Country Iron Mint Green Flower Plant Stand
Located in Germantown, MD
A Mid 20th Century French Country Iron Mint Green Flower Plant Stand Measures 33" in width, 14" in depth and 32" in height. Jardiniere bed is 25.3", 13.5" in depth and 4.5" in height...
Iron
French Early 20th Century Jardiniere
Located in Stockbridge, GA
Charming iron Planter lacquered white/cream with garlands and flowers.
Iron
Tomaso Buzzi Wrought Iron Side Chair
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in New York, NY
Neoclassical wrought iron paint decorated Italianate chair, by Tomaso Buzzi. Suitable for indoor or outdoor use, shows cosmetic wear, normal and consistent with age. Measures: Seat h...
Pair of Tomaso Buzzi Wrought Iron Armchairs
By Tomaso Buzzi
Located in New York, NY
Rare armchair version of the classic wrought iron garden chairs by Tomaso Buzzi. Measure: Arm height 24.75 inches, seat height 15.5 inches. Original paint finish, shows some cosmetic...
Wrought Iron