Fontana Arte 1970 By Erwin Walter Burger Decorative Art Glass Squared Dish Bowl

Modern sculptural tray designed by Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985). Fabulous and very rare modernist tray dish, designed by the silversmith artist Tapio Wirkkala, back in the 1955. The sculptural tray has been crafted by Kultakeskus Oy in the city of Oulu, Finland in the shape of a boat in solid .916/.999 sterling silver with high polished finish. The incredible design is dated 1962 and is made up with a navette shaped piece, with several embossed levels in low and high elliptical with an elliptical hammered recess and an elliptical convex base, which create a fabulous optical effect. This tray is beautiful and elegant piece by one of the great 20th century designers is in lovely condition. It is a piece of sculptural art and will display with great eye appeal. Note: This is the model TW-114. Weight: 186.2 Grams, (119.40 Dwt). Measurements: 95 mm by 301 mm by 26 mm (3.75 x 11.85 x 1.04 Inches). Hallmarks: Stamped and engraved with the Finnish crown mark; the maker's mark, the mark for the assay of the .916 silver, the code for the date of production of 1962, the mark for the town of Oulu and signed in full, "TAPIO WIRKKALA 916H 1-7". Tapio Wirkkala Wirkkala was born in Hanko in 1915. He attended the Töölö co-educational school in Helsinki. His father, Ilmari Wirkkala, was a cemetery architect, and mother Selma (née Vanhatalo) a wood-carver. His sister Helena Korvenkontio and brother Tauno Wirkkala were also artists. Wirkkala's work ranges from designs of plastic ketchup bottles and metalwork to glass, ceramics and plywood in a range of styles. His success as a glass designer began in 1946 when he designed the Kantarelli vase for Iittala, and the mass-produced Tapio collection was launched in 1954. His range was immense, including glassware, stoneware, jewellery, and furniture for mass production, as well as individual sculptures in several media. He designed commemorative postage stamps for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and also designed the Finnish markka banknotes introduced in 1955. In the early 1950s, Wirkkala worked as the artistic director at the Helsinki Central School of Industrial Design. The WIR lightbulb designed by Wirkkala for Airam Electric was awarded the Grand Prix at the XII Milan Triennial in 1960. Among his most famous work have been the designs for the Finlandia vodka bottle (1970–1999) and for Iittala's Ultima Thule set of kitchen glasses. Both glassware items feature a dripping icicle look, and in the case of the Iittala's glassware it is said to have taken thousands of hours to develop a glassblowing technique that would produce the effect. Wirkkala did much of his initial design work using a traditional Finnish carving knife, the puukko. Wirkkala designed his own version of the knife, the Tapio Wirkkala Puukko...

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Geometric table lamp designed by Fontana Arte. An extraordinary piece of Italian decorative arts, created in Milano by Fontana Arte, back in the 1960. Crafted with translucent cut glass and nickeled steel. The main body is composed by two rectangular beveled pieces of greenish glass carved with incused circles and frosted finishes. Fontana-Arte FontanaArte is an Italian company founded in Milan in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Giò Ponti (1891-1979). The company is known for the processing of curved glass and for the production of lighting equipment, becoming over the years a prominent name for Italian design. Fontana-Arte marked the “history of light and furnishings” in Italy and worldwide. Born of the idea of an architect, the company has always kept strong ties with the design world, gradually involving leading Italian and international architects and lighting designers. With them, the company has created a true cultural project of architecture, lighting and furniture. This design culture, mainly involving fine materials (above all glass), has seen interaction between technology and aesthetic appeal as its main focus, generating a series of timeless objects, with splendid shapes, some of which have become design classics, exhibited in leading museums around the world. Giò Ponti invites Pietro Chiesa (1892 – 1942) to join him in the art direction. Chiesa is a distinguished glass master who enlists the craftsmen from his own workshop to join him to the company. Gio Ponti designed the 0024 pendant lamp and the Bilia table lamp in 1931. Pietro Chiesa‘s most famous lamp at that time is the Luminator, designed in 1933, in 1937 the 006. In 1954, Max Ingrand, a French glass master and decorator, renowned for his stunning stained-glass church windows, becomes the art director. He designed the Fontana table lamp. Gio Ponti becomes again art director in 1967 and he designs a new collection of lamps, the Pirellina and Pirellone table...

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