Italian Rocking Chair by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova
About the Item
- Creator:Poltronova (Manufacturer),Gae Aulenti (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 39 in (99.06 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1962
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Mexico City, MX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3125310183361
Gae Aulenti
The Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti will forever be best remembered for her work with museums, in particular her 1980–86 renovation of a Beaux Arts Paris train station to create the galleries of the Musée d’Orsay. Aulenti — whose first name, short for Gaetana, is pronounced “guy” — should also be recalled for her tough intellectual spirit and for working steadily when few women found successful architectural careers in postwar Italy.
After she graduated from the Milan Polytechic in 1954, Aulenti opened an architectural office. She also joined the staff of the progressive architectural magazine Casabella, whose editorial line was that the establishment, orthodox modernism of Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus, had outlived it usefulness. When their movement for fresh approaches to architecture and design received a sympathetic hearing, Aulenti found patrons — most prominently Gianni Agnelli, of Fiat, who later employed her to renovate the Palazzo Grassi in Venice for use as an arts exhibition space.
Commissions for showrooms and other corporate spaces brought Aulenti to furniture design. She felt that furniture should never dominate a room. Her chairs and sofas — low-slung, with rounded enameled metal frames and ample seats — and tables, particularly her 1972 marble Jumbo coffee table for Knoll, project solidity and sturdiness. In lighting design, however, Aulenti is bravura. Each work has a marvelous sculptural presence. Pieces such as her Pipistrello table lamp and Quadrifoglio pendant are a perfect marriage of organically shaped glass and high-tech fixtures. Others have a futuristic elegance — and some even have a touch of personality. Aulenti’s Pileino and La Ruspa table lamps each look almost like little robots. Her lighting pieces are an artful grace note in the career of a woman who believed in strength.
Poltronova
Poltronova is known for embracing the creativity that opposites can introduce to a space. Its radical modernist furniture and lighting fixtures are simultaneously grounded in classic aesthetics and inspired by what were then new and provocative artistic movements in mid-century Italy, when the company was founded. This tension resulted in unique and extraordinary pieces at the manufacturer, from eccentric, glove-shaped armchairs to striking dining tables that feature a mix of materials and textures.
Italian designer Sergio Cammilli founded Poltronova in Tuscany in 1957. That same year, it won the Compasso d’Oro for the Panchetto chair designed by Luciano Nustrini. Revolutionary Italian architect Ettore Sottsass — a maestro of postmodern design who would later establish the Memphis Group — came on board as an art director in 1958. Poltronova manufactured many of his furniture and ceramic designs. Sottsass’s lighting, seating and other works for Poltronova showcase the designer’s bold experimentation with solid wood, glass, metal and laminate materials.
Other established names in Italian furniture design collaborated with Poltronova’s Sottsass and Cammilli, including Giovanni Michelucci, Gae Aulenti and Angelo Mangiarotti. However, the company truly set itself apart in its collaborations with Superstudio and Archizoom Associati, groups that were part of an irreverent, avant-garde movement in art and design that took shape during the 1960s in Florence, Turin and Milan. Collectives associated with the movement — which would one day be called Italian Radical design — drew on Pop art and minimalism and explored working with unconventional materials to create colorful, quirky and uniquely shaped objects and furnishings. At the time, Poltronova also worked with up-and-coming names in the art world, like painter Max Ernst and sculptor Mario Ceroli.
Poltronova showcased its groundbreaking designs in many exhibitions, such as “La Casa Abitata,” which was held in Florence in 1965. At Milan's Eurodomus trade show in 1970, Poltronova debuted an entire bedroom collection designed by Sottsass — including his sensuous Ultrafragola mirror. The brand’s furnishings were included in a 1972 exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art called "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape," and in 1977, Poltronova again won the Compasso d’Oro for a book called Fare Mobili con Poltronova (Making Furniture with Poltronova).
Poltronova's enduring and acclaimed furniture designs came to be loved far outside Italy. During the 1960s, importer Charles Stendig represented the company and helped introduce it to the American market.
In 2005, Poltronova established the Centro Studi Poltronova to recreate some of the company's iconic furniture. The brand has also recently collaborated with English architect Nigel Coates, who worked with a Poltronova master craftsman in Italy to design a series of limited-edition furniture in 2011, including the Domo chair.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Poltronova tables, seating, storage cabinets and more.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Mexico City, Mexico
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Arne Jacobsen Set of 4 Model 3107 ChairsBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Mexico City, MXA set of 4 ash plywood and steel model 3107 (number 7) chairs by Arne Jacobsen. These chairs were manufactured in 1999 by Fritz Hansen and distributed by Kn...Category
1990s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Edward Hald for Orrefors 1948 Fish Graal Flower VaseBy Edward Hald, OrreforsLocated in Mexico City, MXA Swedish "graal" glass flower vase with green aquarium decoration by glassworker Edward Hald. Signed and marked on bottom 1379 B, which dates it in 1948. Edward Hald (1883 - 1980...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Victor Vasarely for TANE. Sterling Silver with Vermeil "Cuadratura" SculptureBy Victor Vasarely, Tane OrfebresLocated in Mexico City, MXA rare TANE Orfebres Sterling Silver with vermeil sculpture by Victor Vasarely named Cuadratura. Series 6 / 20 and signed on one of its sides. Manufactured in 1978. Weight: 2390 g. ...Category
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Jens Harald Quistgaard for Dansk Designs Pair of Brass CandlesticksBy Dansk, Jens QuistgaardLocated in Mexico City, MXA pair of Danish 1960's brass candle sticks by Jens Harald Quistgaard for Dansk Designs. Both candlesticks are sealed on the lower interior.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Candlesticks
MaterialsBrass
- Tapio Wirkkala for Rosenthal Studio-Linie Pollo Biscuit Porcelain VaseBy Tapio Wirkkala, RosenthalLocated in Mexico City, MXA 1970's biscuit porcelain "Pollo" vase by Tapio Wirkkala. Manufactured by Rosenthal Studio-Linie. The iconic vase shows no damage.Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsPorcelain
- Pedro Friedeberg 1970's Gold Leaf and Mahogany Hand - ChairBy Pedro FriedebergLocated in Mexico City, MXAn iconic 1970's carved mahogany wood with gold leaf Hand - Chair by Italian - born Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg. The piece is a rare finding suitable for collectors of Mexican ar...Category
Vintage 1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsGold Leaf
- Sgarsul Rocking Chair by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, Italy 1960sBy Poltronova, Gae AulentiLocated in Roma, ITSgarsul Rocking Chair by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, Italy 1960s. Varnished wood with original white pony leather uplholster. Very good condition. cm 83x74x115. God conditionsCategory
Vintage 1960s Italian Rocking Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Sgarsul Rocking Chair by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, 1960sBy Gae Aulenti, PoltronovaLocated in HEVERLEE, BEThis great Sgarsul rocking chair was designed by Gae Aulenti in 1962 for Poltronova. Consists of a red lacquered bentwood frame with nicely patinated brown leather seats/upholster...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Bentwood
- Gae Aulenti Sgarsul rocking chair Poltronova Italy 1962By Gae Aulenti, PoltronovaLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantIconic Sgarsul rocking chair designed by Gae Aulenti and manufactured by Poltronova in Italy in 1962. It's made from birch plywood and has a sleek black gloss finish that gives it a ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Plywood
- Sgarsul Rocking Chair Designed by Gae Aulenti for PoltronovaBy Gae Aulenti, PoltronovaLocated in Parma, ITSgarsul rocking chair designed by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova 1960s. Structure in bent and lacquered wood, leather seat and cushion. In good vintage condition with signs of wear on ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Rocking Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Sgarsul Rocking Chair by Gae Aulenti for PoltronovaBy Gae AulentiLocated in Roma, ITThe "Sgarsul" rocking chair is a reinterpretation of Thonet's 1862 N1 cantilever armchair by Gae Aulenti, a leading architect and designer of Italian design. In this project, bourgeois values are challenged by stripping them of their austere severity and reinterpreting them with irony. The structure, as in the original Thonet chairs...Category
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Leather
- Original White and Brown Aulenti Gae Rocking Chair, 1960 Sgarsul PoltronovaBy Gae AulentiLocated in Palermo, SicilyOriginal white and brown Aulenti Gae rocking chair, 1960 Sgarsul Poltronova. The general conditions are as shown in the photo.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood