Silvered Spherical Flower Vase by Gio Ponti for Christofle, Gallia 1957
View Similar Items
Silvered Spherical Flower Vase by Gio Ponti for Christofle, Gallia 1957
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 5.12 in (13 cm)Width: 5.12 in (13 cm)Depth: 5.12 in (13 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Metal,Silvered
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1957
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Antwerp, BE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU93104730513
Gio Ponti
An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors 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.
Ponti's 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, which was 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 vintage Gio Ponti desks, dining chairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Art Nouveau ceramic vases with gilt flowers by Turn Teplitz Amphora Austria 1900By Turn-Teplitz, Amphora Austria ManufactoryLocated in Antwerp, BEArt Nouveau ceramic vases with gilt flowers by Turn Teplitz marked RStK and Amphora. Ceramic, hand-painted green and purple with gilt flowers. Austria c...Category
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Pair of Art Deco vases with flowers Boch Frères La Louvière 1931By Boch Freres KeramisLocated in Antwerp, BEPair of Art Deco vases with flowers and Art Deco pattern in silver and gold on a black shiny glaze by Boch Frères, La Louvière. With Boch Frères stamp. Model number D 1780. Belgium,...Category
Vintage 1930s Belgian Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Art Deco porcelain vase with flowers Ernest Ventrillon Les Arts Réunis 1930By Gaston VentrillonLocated in Antwerp, BEArt Deco porcelain vase with flowers signed by Ernest Ventrillon for Les Arts Réunis. Model number 296. Tall vase in ivory porcelain with floral Art Deco pattern in gold, silver and ...Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsPorcelain
- Art Deco Vases Red Ceramic and Bronze Paul Milet for Sèvres, 1920By Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Antwerp, BEPair of French red ceramic Art Deco vases or urns with dark red glaze and bronze decorations. Paul Milet (1870-1950) son of Optat Milet. France 1920.Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsBronze
$1,891 Sale Price / set20% Off - Art Deco Ceramic Vase with Bathing Nudes by Primavera Longwy 1925 FranceLocated in Antwerp, BEArt Deco vase with bathing nudes, peacock and ibex in shades of blue, purple, black and white. Aux Baigneuses. Marked Primavera, Longwy, France 1925. This French Art Deco vase was ...Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Art Deco ceramic vase with bathing nudes Baigneuses Primavera Longwy 1925By Primavera, Atelier Primavera au Printemps, Faïenceries et Emaux de LongwyLocated in Antwerp, BEArt Deco ceramic vase with bathing nudes Baigneuses. Longwy Primavera Art Deco vase with nudes in a landscape in shades of blue, black, green and white. Marked Primavera, Longwy, Fr...Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Silver “Cardinale” Vase by Lino Sabattini for ChristofleBy Christofle, Lino SabattiniLocated in Los Angeles, CAA slender bud vase in silver plated metal by self-taught metalsmith and designer Lino Sabattini, produced beginning in 1957 by Christofle, the legacy French homewares company where S...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsSilver Plate
- 1980s Modernist Silver Plated Italian Multi Vase in the Manner of Giò PontiBy Lino Sabattini, Gio PontiLocated in Aci Castello, ITA silver plated multi pipes vase designed and manufactured in Italy in the Eighties, good conditions overall. The vase is a striking example of Italian design from that era. Inspired...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Set of Three Lino Sabattini Pieces for Gallia and Christofle, France, 1970By Lino SabattiniLocated in Brussels, BEA set of 3 silver plated pieces, all stamped Galia & Christofle including the "Viking" vase. All designed by L. Sabattini. France around 1970.Category
Vintage 1970s French Vases
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Art Deco Pitcher by Christian Fjerdingstad, Gallia for ChristofleBy Christofle, Gallia, Christian FjerdingstadLocated in Paris, FRElegant Art Deco pitcher shaped with melon-style ribs on a quatrefoil base designed by Christian Fjerdingstad who was a Danish sculptor born in 1891. When he came to France, he creat...Category
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Sheffield and Silverplate
MaterialsSilver Plate
$1,715 Sale Price / item20% Off - Art Deco Fish Gravy Boat by Gallia for ChristofleBy Christofle, GalliaLocated in Paris, FRDue to small production, this Fish-shaped gravy boat is extremely rare and so sophisticated! Silver-plated Art Deco design with an elegant stylized line and a nicely curved tail. It ...Category
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Serving Bowls
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Lino Sabattini for Christofle Gallia, Cocktail Jug, c.1960By Christofle, Lino SabattiniLocated in Bath, GBA fabulous modernist silver plated bar or cocktail jug; about as stylish as they get. Made even more interesting as this example was used during the 1963 ...Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Barware
MaterialsSilver Plate
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.