Rare Pair of Lamp Tables by Fontana Arte
View Similar Items
Rare Pair of Lamp Tables by Fontana Arte
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 43.31 in (110 cm)Diameter: 18.12 in (46 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1988
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: FABIOLTD L3221stDibs: LU1753224608982
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- Rare Pair of Lamp Tables by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAOriginal pair of Model 2755 vintage lamp tables with adjustable stems, clear and opaline glass tops, designed by Daniela Puppa and Franco Raggi for Fontana Arte, made in Italy in 198...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$7,500 / set - Rare Mongolfiera Lamp by Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Gianni CeladaLocated in Los Angeles, CARare "Mongolfiera model 2491" oversized lamp designed by Gianni Celada for Fontana Arte, made in Italy circa 1968, composed of opaline blown glasses on chrome-plated metal frame. It ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Pair of Beveled Glass Sconces by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian wall lights with thick beveled glass diffusers mounted on nickel wall brackets / Made in Italy by Fontana Arte, circa 1970s Measures: height 5 inches, width 16 inches...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsNickel
$2,500 / set - Pair of Ladybug Sconces by Fontana Arte, 2 Pairs AvailableBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAOriginal vintage Italian wall lights "Lampira" model, with ABC cover and white opaline glass shade designed by Gianemilio, Piero and Anna Monti for Fontana Arte / Made in Italy, circ...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, PVC
- Pair of Fontana Arte Sconces by Gio' PontiBy Fontana Arte, Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAOriginal vintage Italian wall lights with brass hardware and sand blasted glass graving / Made in Italy by Fontana Arte designed by Gio' Ponti, circa 1935 Measures: height 16 inches,...Category
20th Century Italian Neoclassical Revival Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
$7,500 / set - Midcentury Pendant by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian pendant with a large frosted glass shade suspended with three blue glass balls on nickel frame / Made in Italy by Fontana Arte, circa 1970s Original sticker on the ce...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsNickel
- Lamp Table by Daniela Puppa and Franco Raggi for Fontana Arte, 1988By Fontana Arte, Daniela Puppa and Franco RaggiLocated in Los Angeles, CAA amazing Memphis style lamp table by Daniela Puppa and Franco Raggi for Fontana Arte. Adjustable inclination stem, glass, opaline glass, metal. Mo...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Fontana Glass Table Designed by Pietro Chiesa in 1932 for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in Brooklyn, NYDesigned by Pietro Chiesa, it was an extraordinary piece of essentiality and elegance. This coffee table is made from a double curved single piece of thick glass (15 mm). Available i...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass
- Rare Fontana Arte wall mounted console tableBy Fontana ArteLocated in London, GBFontana Arte floating console glass with brass wall brackets. Dimensions 80cm (31.5 inches) x (width) x 25.5cm x (10 inches) The glass is 2cm (0.75 inches thick) In very good co...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Cocktail Table by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in New York, NYAn elegant and early Pietro Chiesa designed cocktail table manufactured by Fontana Arte. Rose gold mirrored glass top inset onto wood dish frame above splayed legs. Early Fontana Art...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMirror, Wood
- Pair of Rare Bedside Tables by Mathieu MatégotBy Mathieu MatégotLocated in London, GBA pair of black rigitule bedside table or originally telephone table. Manufactured by Les Ateliers Matégot, 1953, France. Original paint. Published in Patrick Favardin Book p6.Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsSteel
$16,000 / set - Fontana Arte Center TableBy Fontana ArteLocated in Madrid, ESA 1940s Fontana Arte coffee table. Wood and mirror base, brass and Fontana Arte two centimeter thick glass. Beautiful patina. Exceptional design.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
MaterialsBrass