Rare Salterini Iron and Cane Sofa
View Similar Items
Rare Salterini Iron and Cane Sofa
About the Item
- Creator:Maurizio Tempestini (Designer),John Salterini (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 79 in (200.66 cm)Depth: 31 in (78.74 cm)Seat Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Minor wear consistent with age and use. Upholstery is clean but original and may need to be updated or recovered.
- Seller Location:Waltham, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU933810840021
Maurizio Tempestini
Italian architect and furniture designer Maurizio Tempestini is well-known among vintage outdoor furniture aficionados for his sculptural Clamshell line and other elegant mid-century modern furnishings for patios and gardens.
Born in Florence in 1908, Tempestini completed his studies in Industrial Decoration at the Porta Romana Art Institute in 1929. His career as an interior architect and furniture and lighting designer flourished during the early 1930s. It was during this time Tempestini was also active as a set designer for several Italian theater productions, including Mario Massa’s Osteria degli immortali and Luigi Bonelli’s comedy Il Gigli.
Tempestini then turned his attention from the stage to designing furniture and decorative objects. He crafted pieces for ceramics factory Cantagalli in Florence, as well as for Murano glass manufacturers Seguso and Cappellin.
In 1934, Tempestini worked on the external renovation of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni at the Parterre di San Gallo in Florence for the Littoriali Exhibition. Later, in 1938, he formed a studio with architects Nello Baroni and Pietro Porcinai before cofounding the legendary postwar Italian lighting maker Arteluce with designer and engineer Gino Sarfatti in 1939.
During the 1950s, Tempestini designed lighting fixtures for Lightolier and began to collaborate with Brooklyn, New York’s John B. Salterini Company. Salterini was an Italian emigree who initially worked in journalism before becoming an eminent producer of high-end wrought-iron furniture.
Tempestini’s modernist outdoor furniture for Salterini resembled indoor seating manufactured by the likes of Knoll or Artifort — his chairs and other seating boasted organic curves and seductive, unconventional shapes. His work complemented Salterini’s own handmade designs, which reflected Gothic Revival and Art Deco influences. Together the designers produced successful lines of garden and patio furniture for Salterini’s eponymous firm.
Tempestini’s name soon became widely known in the United States. His designs were first introduced to the American public in 1951 through Gimbels Department Store and Suniland Furniture in Houston, Texas. Today his bold and stylish patio furniture remains sought after by collectors everywhere.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Maurizio Tempestini garden elements, lounge chairs and tables.
John Salterini
While John B. Salterini designed ornate wrought-iron garden furniture for patios and lawns, he specifically sought to match the forms of indoor furniture and also advocated the use of his furniture indoors “because it brings into your home the freshness and gaiety of a flowery summer garden” (per his print advertisements).
After emigrating from Italy to New York, Salterini worked in journalism at first, editing a newspaper in Syracuse. When he moved to New York City, he worked in glass manufacturing and then entered into the production of wrought-iron furniture as a partner in Salterini & Gallo. When that company shuttered, he launched his own eponymous firm in 1934, eventually offering some of the most exquisite, high-end outdoor furniture of the mid-century period.
Over the course of his career, Salterini designed a wide range of furniture, from tables and chairs to chaise longues, ottomans and benches. And his influences were equally wide as well. His work is often identified as mid-century modern — the Clamshell line, designed for Salterini’s company by like-minded Italian architect and industrial designer Maurizio Tempestini, boasts soft curves and cocoon-like shells that strike a sharp contrast with the solidity of wrought iron and resemble the zany chair designs emerging during the postwar period from designers like Pierre Paulin and Arne Jacobsen.
The furniture from John B. Salterini Company also combined organic and geometric forms, one of the mid-century design movement’s defining features. But Salterini was equally influenced by the Gothic Revival and Art Deco movements, incorporating their signature flourishes like intricate lace-like patterns, delicate vine leaves and protruding scrolls into his French Provincial Group’s glass-topped tables and chairs. One of his most ornate and ostentatious designs is the Peacock double chaise longue, with its elaborate spokes and arching back.
The postwar boom in prosperity and leisure time led to the expansion of the home to include patios, which needed to be furnished with stylish outdoor furniture. Wrought iron was considered the best material for outdoor use because of its comparative lightness and pliability to other metals. The term “wrought” means made by hand, as opposed to “cast” iron, which was made using molds. Salterini’s high-end handcrafted furniture, with names like Park Avenue Group — promoted for indoor use and photographed as such for the firm’s catalogues — attracted wealthy buyers from across the country. They were drawn to his ability to make a metal like wrought iron look almost ethereal and elegant, and the way he incorporated the popular styles and design principles of the day into his pieces.
That John B. Salterini’s vintage garden furniture — a collection of which can be found on 1stDibs — can be used indoors and look completely natural is a rare feat.
- Vintage Wrought Iron Sofa Set Refinished by TVPBBy Russell Woodard, John SalteriniLocated in Cumberland, RIVintage Wrought iron sofa set Refinished by TVPB This set will be completely refinished being sandblasted and powder coated in choice of col...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsMetal, Iron, Wrought Iron
$6,479 / set - Mid-Century Modern Orange Slice Iron with Sailcloth Lounge Chairs by SalteriniBy Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in Port Jervis, NYFabulous and rare to find radar chairs by Maurizio Tempestini with Sailcloth as the seating material. Actual sails were cut and installed professionally. Chairs need a good cleaning ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsIron
- Mid-Century Modern Iron Hoop Lounge Chair by Maurizio Tempestini for SalteriniBy Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in Port Jervis, NYFabulous iron hoop chair designed by Maurizio Tempestini for Salterini c1955. In very good condition needing a spray job. New plastic feet glides. Poss...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsIron
- Rare Rattan Caned Sofa with a Fine Decor, France or Asia, circa 1930Located in Paris, FRRare and wonderful banquette in rattan in very good condition, France or Asia, circa 1930. Extremely fine and complex decor.Category
Vintage 1930s French Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsRattan
- Tempestini for Salterini Radar ChairBy Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in New York, NYNice Garden or Patio Radar chair designed by Tempestini, manufactured by Salterini. No damage, bends, weld or repairs. This example is in later burgundy pa...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsWrought Iron, Iron
- Salterini Wrought Iron SeatingBy John SalteriniLocated in Cumberland, RISalterini Wrought Iron Seating For your consideration is a beautiful pair of bar stools with ornate rose and leaf detailing. Scrolled back rest and seat with detailed medallion cente...Category
Early 20th Century European French Provincial Stools
MaterialsMetal, Iron
$2,250 / set