Gio Ponti Reed and Barton “Diamond” Sterling Silver Flatware
View Similar Items
Gio Ponti Reed and Barton “Diamond” Sterling Silver Flatware
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer),Reed & Barton (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 5 in (12.7 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 18 in (45.72 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Mid-20th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Dimpling to handle of one knife. Age appropriate wear and surface scratches to full set.
- Seller Location:Indianapolis, IN
- Reference Number:Seller: 23CGA28321stDibs: LU6661233759862
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.
- Emil Milan Signed Khaya Wood Divided Bowl with Sterling FeetBy Emil MilanLocated in Indianapolis, INA divided console bowl carved by American woodworker Emil Milan (1922-1985). Carved from African mahogany, also known as Khaya wood, the bowl is divided into three parts and stands o...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Martz Marshall Studios Mid-Century Modern Walnut and Round Tile Top TableBy Marshall Studios, Gordon & Jane MartzLocated in Indianapolis, INA Mid-Century Modern custom ordered table designed by husband and wife duo Jane and Gordon Martz of Marshall Studios in Veedersburg, Indiana. Produced during this 1960s, this walnut ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsCeramic, Walnut
- Jane and Gordon Martz Marshall Studios Mid Century Modern Walnut Tile Table LampBy Marshall Studios, Gordon & Jane MartzLocated in Indianapolis, INA Mid Century Modern table lamp designed by husband and wife design duo Jane and Gordon Martz for Marshall Studios in Veedersburg, Indiana. Composed of walnut, the lamp has a round t...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Walnut
- Richard Young Rosewood and Chrome Bar CartBy Richard YoungLocated in Indianapolis, INA bar or tea cart designed by the British designer Richard Young. The cart has chrome sides with black faux leather wrapped around the top and two shelves with a rosewood veneer. The...Category
Late 20th Century British Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsChrome
- Thom Shaw Collage and Abstract Marker DrawingLocated in Indianapolis, INA collage and marker abstract drawing by the American artist Thom Shaw (1947-2010). Four squares depicting men in various stages of putting on a tie are collaged onto the intricately...Category
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Drawings
MaterialsPaper
- Gregg Fleishman 1990s Postmodern Wood and Metal ChairBy Gregg FleishmanLocated in Indianapolis, INA 1990s Postmodern wood and metal chair designed by American architect Gregg Fleishman. The artistically designed chair is composed of three Euro Birch plywood panels that are pierced and supported by two metal rods, pins, and leather ties. The back panel is signed and marked "1900" in silver paint...Category
1990s American Post-Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Sterling Tea Service Designed by Gio Ponti for Reed and BartonBy Gio Ponti, Reed & BartonLocated in Lambertville, NJA sterling tea service with sterling tray designed by Gio Ponti for Reed and Barton, pattern 440 "Diamond" the tray is #1574. The set consists of ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Tea Sets
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Diamond by Reed and Barton Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service 51 pieces ModernBy Reed & BartonLocated in Big Bend, WIThis pattern was designed by internationally renowned Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti and introduced by Reed & Barton in the year 1958. It has a wonderful Mid-Century Modern...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Diamond by Reed and Barton Sterling Silver Flatware Set 24 Service 98 PiecesBy Reed & BartonLocated in Big Bend, WIThe Mid-century Modern pattern "Diamond" was created by Internationally renowned Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti and introduced by Reed & Barton in the year 1958. This is our #1 best selling Mid-century Modern sterling flatware pattern...Category
20th Century Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Copley by Reed & Barton Sterling Silver Flatware Set 89 PiecesBy Reed & BartonLocated in Big Bend, WIStunning Copley by Reed & Barton sterling silver Flatware set - 89 Pieces. This set includes: 12 Knives, 8 3/4" 12 Forks, 7 1/4" 12 Salad Forks, 6 1/4" 12 Teaspoons, 5 3/4" 12 Place ...Category
20th Century Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Louis XV Reed & Barton Silver Flatware SetBy Reed & BartonLocated in New York, NYFrench "Francis 1st pattern" 1920s sterling silver flatware dinner service set for 18 with a rococo floral design in a mahogany case. 250 pieces. (REED & B...Category
Early 20th Century French Baroque Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver, Brass
- Silver Sculpture by Reed and Barton Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service 40 PcsBy Reed & BartonLocated in Big Bend, WISilver Sculpture by Reed and Barton sterling silver Flatware set, 40 pieces. (See photo of Reed & Barton's 1954 advertisement, as illustrated in Modernism in American Silver by Stern...Category
Vintage 1970s Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
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.