Dish Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari, Stilnovo, Italy 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Stilnovo (Maker),Gaetano Sciolari (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 38 in (96.52 cm)Diameter: 25 in (63.5 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Non-UL wired for the US.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:
Gaetano Sciolari
The work of celebrated mid-century Italian lighting designer and entrepreneur Angelo Gaetano Sciolari became widely popular in the United States during the postwar years and strongly influenced lighting makers around the world. The sculptural forms and striking geometric details of his vintage floor lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures fit seamlessly into the mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency interiors of the day.
Sciolari formally studied architecture but also pursued filmmaking for a short period. When his father passed away in 1949, Sciolari took the reins at his family's company, Sciolari Lighting, which had been in business in Rome since 1892. The manufacturer expanded considerably under Gaetano’s leadership. For one, pioneering American lighting company Lightolier, in New York City, began to import the Italian brand’s lighting for the U.S. market, and Lightolier’s star designer, Gerald Thurston, was significantly influenced by Gaetano’s work. In the 1970s, Americans looking to add provocative fixtures created by Gaetano Sciolari to their living rooms could find them in Lightolier catalogs.
Sciolari initially crafted lamps and sconces that bore the hallmarks of traditional Italian design. But during the 1950s, when he would become the in-house designer for legendary Milan lighting manufacturer Stilnovo — one of the leaders of Italian postwar design — he created revolutionary fixtures that endured as his best-known work.
Sciolari drew on a range of influences — enthusiasts see the imprint of Art Deco, brutalism and more in his lighting — and designed futuristic Space Age chandeliers, ceiling lamps and pendants for Stilnovo as well as Stilkronen and S.A. Boulanger that defied the conventions of the time. A dizzying array of materials and finishes characterizes the designer’s work, while geometry is pronounced in each sculptural fixture — there are blown opal glass spheres, polished chrome tubes and brass square bulb holders. These combinations were critical to the development of dazzling lighting that proves eye-catching in any space decades later.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Angelo Gaetano Sciolari lighting today.
Stilnovo
Though Bruno Gatta (1904–76) founded Stilnovo way back in 1946, it is still one of the most instantly recognizable names in lighting. Gatta began his business in Milan, and, like many European creatives designing furniture and decor in the wake of World War II, Stilnovo leaned toward the new wave of mass-market and streamlined styles. In fact, Stilnovo loosely translates to “new style” in Italian, and vintage Stilnovo lighting has endured as a practical choice for those looking to bring innovative and forward-thinking design into their homes.
Soon after Stilnovo was established, Gatta’s lighting fixtures were applauded throughout Europe for their novel industrial materials as well as their unique yet functional shapes. Italy in the 1950s was forming a completely revolutionized look, and Bruno Gatta and Stilnovo’s head designer, Angelo Gaetano Sciolari, helped shape it. When the 1960s arrived, Stilnovo was experiencing such a boom that the company opened a new production plant in Lainate. One of the brand’s most famous pieces, Giovanni Luigi Gorgoni’s quirky 1965 Buonanotte spherical table lamp, became a best seller.
Gatta partnered with some of the most well-known names in design, including Ettore Sottsass, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Joe Colombo and Gae Aulenti. Sottsass’s pieces for Stilnovo, including the 1977 Valigia four-legged table lamp, the 1968 Lampros chandelier and Manifesto ceiling light, and the Castiglionis’ 1957 Saliscendi pendant light fixtures are some of the brand’s most recognizable to date. In 1978, De Pas, D’Urbino and Lomazzi designed the Fante lamp with an adjustable reflector that playfully recalls a broad-brimmed hat.
Stilnovo’s designs, including Danilo and Corrado Aroldi’s flexible Periscope table lamp, were featured in the 1972 exhibition “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” at the Museum of Modern Art. While Stilnovo continued to operate with new designer collaborations after Gatta’s death, it closed its doors in 1988. Italian art director Massimo Anselmi acquired the company in 2012 and rereleased several of Stilnovo’s most celebrated pieces. Then in 2019, lighting giant Linea Light Group purchased Stilnovo and relaunched its classic designs with contemporary touches like LED lighting systems.
Find vintage Stilnovo chandeliers and pendants, wall lights, floor lamps and other fixtures and furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Chandelier by Stilnovo, Italy, circa 1960By StilnovoLocated in New York, NYTwo metal stems suspending two blue-green curved glass panels encompassing a three-part nickel structure.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsNickel
- Four-Dish Chandelier, Italy, Art Moderne, 1930sLocated in New York, NYFour glass dishes, etched with stylized weaths, mounted to a long, illuminated chrome structure with similarly etched glass walls, containing four slats of glass, hanging from two ch...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsNickel
- “Bubble” Chandelier by Simone Crestani, Italy, 2012Located in New York, NYFire-worked glass with metal fittings; a three-tier suspension light, composed of frosted orbs projecting a Cascade of connected, transparent glass spheres. Limited Edition 1/6. O...Category
2010s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- “Alga Bianca” Chandelier by Simone Crestani, Italy, 2012By Simone CrestaniLocated in New York, NYFire-worked glass with metal fittings, a frosted central dish, issuing sinuous fronds of milk glass with lateral clear glass projections, suspended from a glass sleeved rod. Limited ...Category
2010s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- "Bubble" Chandelier by Simone Crestani, Italy, 2017By Simone CrestaniLocated in New York, NYSingle white glass globe surrounded by several bubble structures suspended from a 24-karat gold structure. Custom sizes and finishes available. Fixture height: 16”.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsGold
- Dahlia Chandelier by Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte, Italy, circa 1955By Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYChandelier composed of sixteen translucent green and amber glass “petals” mounted to a radial brass structure, suspended from three rods and matching canopy. Fontana Arte model number 1563. Literature: Franco Deboni’s Fontana Arte...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- 1950s Green Counterweight Pendant Attributed to Gaetano Sciolari for StilnovoBy Gaetano Sciolari, StilnovoLocated in Glendale, CA1950s Counter-weight pendant attributed to Gaetano Sciolari for Stilnovo. A quintessentially 1950s Italian design executed in green painted metal and brass. Height can be adjusted by...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Large Italian Brass Cubist Chandelier by Gaetano SciolariBy Sciolari Lighting, Gaetano Sciolari, StilnovoLocated in Houston, TXLarge Italian brass cubist chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari. Stunning large Italian brass chandelier was designed by Gaetano Sciolari for Sciolari lighting in the mid to late 1960's. ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Ceiling Lights by Gaetano Sciolari for StilnovoBy Stilnovo, Gaetano SciolariLocated in Los Angeles, CACeiling lights by Gaetano Sciolari for Stilnovo. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1950. Aluminum frame with anodized copper finish, featuring a unique etched spiral within t...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCopper, Steel
- 1970s Italian Chandelier by Gaetano SciolariBy Gaetano SciolariLocated in New York, NYAbstract 1970s chandelier designed by Gaetano Sciolari for his Italian family's noted lighting company of the same last name. Polished chrome metal tubes house each bulb and are capp...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
- Ovali Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari, ItalyBy Gaetano SciolariLocated in London, GB"Ovali" chandelier by Italian designer and maker Gaetano Sciolari (1927-1994), featuring a silver-coloured frame, six light points and unusual glass decoration of oval-shaped droplet...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Italian Brutalist Chandelier by Gaetano SciolariBy Bakalowits & Söhne, Gaetano Sciolari, Kinkeldey, Palwa, J.T. KalmarLocated in München, DEWonderful brutalist crystal glass chandelier from the 1960s. Extremely successful Italian design. A very pleasant and sparkling light is created. De...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Celebrating Bernd Goeckler’s Remarkable Eye — and Legacy
The impeccable taste of the late, great New York antiques dealer — who died in December — lives on at his New York gallery, run by his niece and longtime protégé, Katja Hirche.
Sara Story Entertains in Her Festive Hudson Valley Home
The designer mixes heirloom pieces and new favorites to create a traditional-with-a-twist holiday setting.