Exquisite Early 1950s Wicker Mirror or Picture Frame by Gio Ponti
View Similar Items
Exquisite Early 1950s Wicker Mirror or Picture Frame by Gio Ponti
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 22.05 in (56 cm)Width: 14.97 in (38 cm)Depth: 2.37 in (6 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU99572486042
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.
- Seguso Murano Glass Picture Frame Vanity Mirror 1950sBy SegusoLocated in Munich, DESophisticated round picture frame or vanity mirror in thick clear blown Murano glass signed with Seguso Murano. The elegant texture of the tightly twisted glass frame...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass
- Archimide Seguso picture frame 1950sBy Archimede SegusoLocated in Milan, ITArchimede Seguso oval frame with a structure in transparent twisted glass. Brass mount. Made in Italy, around 1950 Master glassmaker, designer and entrepreneur, Archimede Seguso is...Category
Vintage 1950s European Picture Frames
MaterialsGlass, Murano Glass
- 1950s Mid-Century Modern Mirrored Glass Picture Frame by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Aci Castello, ITA perfectly preserved mirrored glass rectangular picture frame designed and manufactured by Fontana Arte, one of the leading manufacturers of Mid-Century Modern design in Italy. The ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsCut Glass, Mirror
- Neoclassical Style Mirror or Picture FrameLocated in Sheffield, MAA large rectangular 38" x 48" American Classical style carved gilt-wood frame for mirror or painting, with boldly carved fluting, and raised square and roundel center. May be hung ho...Category
20th Century American Neoclassical Picture Frames
MaterialsWood
- Neoclassical Style Mirror or Picture FrameLocated in Sheffield, MAA large rectangular 38" x 48" American Classical style carved giltwood frame for mirror or painting, with boldly carved fluting, and raised square and roundel centre. May be hung hor...Category
20th Century American Neoclassical Picture Frames
MaterialsWood
- Small Travel picture frame around 1950sLocated in Wien, ATSmall Travel picture frame around 1950s Original condition Picture size: Wide 2,3cm Hight: 3,5cmCategory
Vintage 1950s Austrian Mid-Century Modern Picture Frames
MaterialsBrass
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.