Fontana Arte Glass Vase 2393, circa 1950
View Similar Items
Fontana Arte Glass Vase 2393, circa 1950
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 7.88 in (20 cm)Width: 5.52 in (14 cm)Depth: 2.37 in (6 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Paris, FR
- Reference Number:Seller: AR 1631stDibs: LU254538473363
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- Fontana Arte Vase Glass 1950 ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Vases
MaterialsGlass
- 20th Century Fontana Arte Soliflore Vase Mod 2393 in Crystal, Nickeled Brass 50sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Turin, TurinFontanaArte is an Italian company founded in Milan (as Fontana Arte) in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Giò Ponti and specializing in glass processing and the production of furnishing accessories. It is known for working with curved crystal and producing lighting fixtures, becoming a prominent name in Italian design over the years. Here we have a vertical "Soliflore" vase model 2393 in thick crystal and nickel-plated brass by Fontana Arte designed in 50s. This decorative object is a perfect idea for a gift (wedding, graduation, new born...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsBrass
- Vintage Vase Lamp by Fontana Arte, Italy, 1950sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Roma, ITVase-lamp in lacquered metal and brass, satin white glass diffuser made by Fontana Arte, Italian company founded in Milan in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Giò Ponti. Specializing in g...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsBrass, Metal
- Fontana Arte “Pietro Chiesa “ Vase Glass, 1940, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Other Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte vase in incamiciato blown glass 1970sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Parma, ITGlass vase produced by Fontana Arte 1970s. In gray and white blown and incamiciato glass of distinctive conical shape. In excellent condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte “Cartoccio” Glass, 1949By Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte “Cartoccio” glass, 1940.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Art Deco Vases
MaterialsGlass