Fontana Arte Glass Centerpiece, Italy 1970s
View Similar Items
Fontana Arte Glass Centerpiece, Italy 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.79 in (2 cm)Diameter: 13.39 in (34 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Naples, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3221326650432
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.
- Seguso Black Murano Glass Centerpiece, Italy, 1970sBy Archimede SegusoLocated in Naples, ITRare and beautiful centerpiece ashtray in Murano glass Archimede Seguso 1970, round black color. With label.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Brutalist Sheet Metal Centerpiece, Italy 1970sBy Lino SabattiniLocated in Naples, ITCenterpiece/pot holder in light metal sheet shaped brutalist, in the style of Lino Sabattini 1970.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsSheet Metal
- Fontana Arte Ladybug Sconce, Italy, 1970sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Naples, ITOriginal Italian vintage wall lamp model "Lampira", with ABC lid and white opaline glass shade designed by Gianemilio, Piero and Anna Monti ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, PVC
- Fontana Arte Bath Set, Italy, 1970sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Naples, ITThis Fontana Arte bathroom set is made of thick beveled glass and nickel-plated brass joints. It is composed of 7 different accessories : 1 Large Shelf (cm. h.1x66x26) , 2 Towel Hol...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Brackets
MaterialsChrome
$1,647 / set - Venini '89 Murano Glass Centerpiece, Italy, 1989By VeniniLocated in Naples, ITGlass ashtray or centrepiece worked with the submerged glass technique. Production: Venini, Italy.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Ventrella Bronze Centrepiece, Italy 1970sBy VentrellaLocated in Naples, ITLarge round brass and bronze centrepiece series 'Labirinti', signed Ventrella GioiellIeri in Naples.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsBronze
- Fontana Arte Centerpiece Glass 1940 ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte Centerpiece.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Other Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Centerpiece Glass, 1950, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Centerpiece Glass Bicolor 1950 ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte CenterpieceCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass
- Beveled Glass Centerpiece by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian triangular curved beveled glass centerpiece by Fontana Arte / Made in Italy, circa 1960s Measures: Length 14.5 inches / width 12.25 inches / height 2.25 inches 1 in s...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass
$1,439 Sale Price20% Off - Fontana Arte Centerpiece/Svuota Tasche Glass, 1950, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte centerpiece svuota tasche glass, 1950, Italy.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass
- Fontana Arte Centerpiece/ Pocket Emptier Blu Glass 1950 ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte Centerpiece.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Centerpieces
MaterialsGlass