Fontana Arte 'Scalpellato' Dish by Pietro Chiesa, Italy, circa 1940

A circa 1930 ‘scalpellato’ handcut glass dish designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. The beautiful aquamarine coloured glass was produced using the ‘scalpellato’ or ‘chiselled’ ...

An original pair of '1937' model wall sconces designed by Max Ingrand for the prestigious Milanese company, Fontana Arte. Designed and produced in 1958, these beautiful wall lights e...

One of the most iconic pieces from the Fontana Arte archive, the 'Dahlia' chandelier, designed in the mid 1950s, continues to impress some 70 years later. Designed by Max Ingrand, (t...

A '1669' model circular concave glass mirror designed by Max Ingrand for the Milanese company, Fontana Arte, circa 1960. This beautiful green bevelled glass example with an inner chr...

A '1748' model ceiling light designed by Max Ingrand and artist Duilio Barnabé for Fontana Arte in 1957. A tapered, polished brass cent...

A rare and beautiful pair of 1950s 'Maschere' (Masks) bookends designed by the incomparable Piero Fornasetti. The bookends each depict a Greek theatrical mask, (tragedy), and are exe...

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...

Saucer empties beveled crystal design Peter CHURCH for FONTANA ARTE. ORIGIN Italy PERIOD 1959 DESIGNER Peter CHURCH A descendant of a distinguished Ticino family of artists, after...

Rare Italian Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte decorative box made in Italy in the 1940s. Carved from satinwood, with a thick polished aquamarine glas...

Fontana Arte.

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...

Chiesa Pietro design by Fontana Arte Italy, sculpture chiselled glass years 60. Measure; 17 cm x 11 x 6 cm - 6.5 inches x 2.2" x2.3".