20th Century Italian Small Mahogany Schirolli Mantova Writing Table by Gio Ponti
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 30.75 in (78.11 cm)Width: 43.25 in (109.86 cm)Depth: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1940-1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1622225346092
Gio Ponti
An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti (1891–1979) designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, lamps and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre. In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
His signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.) Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of Gio Ponti furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Palm Beach, FL
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- 20th Century Italian Walnut Writing Table, Desk Set with a Chair by Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA vintage Mid-Century modern Italian freestanding writing table, desk set with two drawers and a stripped chair made of hand crafted Walnut, in good condition. The large table is com...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- 20th Century Swedish Art Deco Jacarandawood Writing Table - Vintage Bronze DeskLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA freestanding, vintage Art Deco Swedish writing table made of hand crafted polished Jacarandawood, in good condition. The rectangular Scandinavian desk has one large drawer in the c...Category
Early 20th Century Swedish Art Deco Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBronze, Brass, Metal
- 20th Century Italian Mahogany Writing Table - Vintage Desk by Vittorio DassiBy Vittorio DassiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA freestanding, half rounded vintage Mid-Century modern Italian writing table made of hand crafted shellac polished, party veneered Mahogany and Rosewood, designed by Vittorio Dassi ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Maplewood Writing Table - Vintage Ebony DeskLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA freestanding, vintage Mid-Century modern Italian writing table made of hand crafted polished, partly veneered Maplewood with a large black Ebony table top, in good condition. Each ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- 20th Century Italian Pair of Vintage Cabinet Writing Tables by Silvio CavatortaBy Silvio CavatortaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA dark-brown, vintage Mid-Century Modern Italian pair of cabinet writing desks (his and hers) with a two door bases and shelving tops, designed by Silvio Cavatorta. The front writing...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsMahogany, Rosewood
- 20th Century Italian Rosewood MIM Writing Table - Vintage Desk by Ico ParisiBy Ico Parisi, MIM RomaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA vintage Mid-Century Modern Italian writing, office table with a large top, made of hand crafted polished Rosewood, designed by Ico Parisi and produced by MIM Roma, in good conditio...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal, Aluminum
- Petite Italian Modern Stained Mahogany Writing Desk by Gio Ponti for SchirolliBy Gio PontiLocated in Brooklyn, NYDiminutive Italian student desk in stained mahogany designed by Gio Ponti for Schirolli, ca. 1950s, Italy. Sculptural form with angular leg details, presenting a sharp profile. There are three drawers and an additional open storage section created by the space between the top drawer and surface apron. Surface is a gray laminate, which can appear light blue depending on the light. Moderate wear present (scuffs to the laminate along with some scratches and old fills/repairs to the front and back concealing minor veneer losses and screw/drill holes). Drawers slide smoothly, and desk presents well. Lock is branded "Schirolli Mantova...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Giò Ponti Desk for Schirolli. Italy 1960By Gio PontiLocated in Catania, ITWooden desk, with three drawers produced in Italy in the 60s by the Schirolli company based on a design by Giò Ponti, the desk is in good condition, it shows some signs of wear due t...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWood
- Italian Gio Ponti Mahogany Table DeskBy Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYItalian 1930s mahogany table desk with geometric form legs with brass sabot feet and a single drawer with a stretcher (GIO PONTI - for the University of Padua)Category
Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti, Walnut Writing Table, from the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, 1950sBy Schirolli, Gio PontiLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireGio Ponti desk in light walnut on shaped tapering legs united by stretchers. The wood is in excellent condition with beautiful graining to the planked top, and the two drawers to th...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti Writing Desk in Walnut and Brass for the BNL Offices, Italy 1940sBy Gio Ponti, SchirolliLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA rare and collectable walnut desk with brass ferrules designed by Gio Ponti and produced by Schirolli (Mantova - Italy) in the 1940s for the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL - Nation...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Black Onyx Glass & Walnut Italian Mid-Century Modern Executive Desk by Gio PontiBy Schirolli, Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYA Rare and Elegant Italian MId-Century Modern Neoclassical Desk / Writing Table by Gio Ponti in solid walnut with an inset top of black onyx glass and brass details. Ponti's design a...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsOnyx, Brass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
Billy Cotton Layers His Interiors with Lived-In Comfort
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.