Gio Ponti Earthenware Modernist Plates, Set of Four
View Similar Items
Gio Ponti Earthenware Modernist Plates, Set of Four
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Diameter: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1967
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Downingtown, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: NY76371stDibs: LU86103188792
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.
- English Pottery Pearlware Botanical Plates, circa 1840Located in Downingtown, PAEnglish pottery pearlware botanical plates, circa 1840 The folky painted plates have a scalloped rim. In the center of each plate is a large...Category
Antique Early 19th Century English Folk Art Pottery
MaterialsPearlware, Pottery
- Wedgwood Creamware Soup Plate with German Ship Decoration.By Josiah WedgwoodLocated in Downingtown, PAThe ship is flying the flag of the last German Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Francis II , Circa 1775-1790. The rare Wedgwood creamware plate...Category
Antique 1780s English Georgian Pottery
MaterialsCreamware
- Stig Lindberg Earthenware Plate After PicassoBy Stig LindbergLocated in Downingtown, PAStig Lindberg Earthenware Plate, Piazza made for Gustavsberg, Sweden, 1950s-early 1960's. This plate is after Picasso from a series called Piaz...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPottery
- Creamware Openwork Dessert Plates, Set of SevenLocated in Downingtown, PASet of Seven Continental Creamware Openwork Dessert Plates The basketweave creamware plates have an openwork reeded border with a gilt rim. The basketweave becomes tighter as it r...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century Victorian Pottery
MaterialsCreamware, Pottery
- Piero Fornasetti Strumenti Musicali Ceramic Plates, Set of SixBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Strumenti Musicali Plates, set of six The plates each depict a different selection of stringed instruments including ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- James and Ralph Clews Lead-Glazed Earthenware Plates with Russian Eagles-EightBy Ralph & James ClewsLocated in Downingtown, PAClews Lead-glazed Earthenware Plates with Russian Eagles, James and Ralph Clews, Cobridge, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Eight Plates, 1830 The se...Category
Antique 1820s English Regency Pottery
MaterialsPottery
- Set of Four Majolica Asparagus Plates Attributed to OrchiesBy OrchiesLocated in Pembroke, MASet of four colorful French majolica asparagus plates attributed to Orchies. Each plate features six amethyst-colored molded asparagus spears resting on a leaf on a plate with turquo...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French French Provincial Pottery
MaterialsMajolica
- Set of Four 19th Century Majolica Asparagus Plates with Molded SunflowerLocated in Pembroke, MASet of four 19th century Majolica asparagus plates. Each plate features three molded asparagus spears with a sunflower and vines encircling the perimeter. The plates are unmarked, bu...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French French Provincial Pottery
MaterialsMajolica
- Ceramic Plates by Gio Ponti for Franco Pozzi, 1960s, Set of 5By Gio PontiLocated in Varese, LombardiaSet of 5 decorative plates designed by Gio Ponti for Ceramica Franco Pozzi. Fair condition: visible signs of wear, discolorations and some chipping. A restoration is recommended. Label maker...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Ceramic Plates by Gio Ponti for Franco Pozzi, 1960s, Set of 2By Gio PontiLocated in Varese, LombardiaSet of 2 decorative plates designed by Gio Ponti for Ceramica Franco Pozzi. Fair condition: visible signs of wear, discolorations and some c...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Set of Six '6' French Faience Asparagus Plates by LunevilleBy LunevilleLocated in Pembroke, MASet of very decorative, late 19th century blue-green French Majolica asparagus plates, hand-painted in white, green and purple, showing four asparagus spears in relief, and with fluted rims. The underside is stamped "Depose K G Luneville...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French French Provincial Pottery
MaterialsCeramic, Majolica
- Wiener Werkstätte Glazed Earthenware BoxBy Wiener WerkstätteLocated in Ft Lauderdale, FLExquisite early Wiener Werkstätte box in glazed earthenware with embellished lid. Signed impressed mark to underside: "WW Made in Austria (illegi...Category
Early 20th Century Austrian Bauhaus Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
$2,600 Sale Price42% Off
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.