Pair of Exceptional Oversized Hurricane Lanterns by Gabriella Crespi, Signed
View Similar Items
Pair of Exceptional Oversized Hurricane Lanterns by Gabriella Crespi, Signed
About the Item
- Creator:Gabriella Crespi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Diameter: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU81021611242
Gabriella Crespi
Bronze discs that open up like clamshells for storage and fold back in to become side tables. Sleek cubes barely suspended off the ground that transform into full-size dining tables. Clean-lined boxes that contain multilevel shelving. Looking at the work of Italian designer Gabriella Crespi, born in 1922 and who still produced furniture in her Milan studio until her death in 2017, it’s hard to believe that many of these highly functional pieces — modernist Rubik’s Cubes of materials, colors and ergonomics — were created decades ago.
Among her best-known creations, the bronze Ellisse table, 1976, and her bronze-and-lacquer Yang-Yin bar, 1979, encapsulate a designer who had a strong dualism in her vision, mixing humble and precious materials, for instance, or creating geometric shapes that were softened by sensual surfaces. Crespi began studying architecture in 1944 at the Politecnico, in Milan, where she was among just a handful of women, and became profoundly influenced by the work of Charles-Édouard "Le Corbusier" Jeanneret and Frank Lloyd Wright. After getting married and having children, she launched her own collections, from jewelry to furniture, and soon gained a loyal following, with design houses such as Maison Dior snapping pieces up for their own lines.
She began work on her most iconic collection, Plurimi, in the late 1960s, and the series — including her Dama table, which plays on the themes of volume, light and adaptability that Crespi has explored throughout her career — flourished through the 1970s and early ’80s. Then there is her famed Z desk, from a mid-1970s series, which manages to be both stylish and humorous, looking like it’s ready to leap off the floor at any moment. Well-born and beautiful, Crespi garnered attention among the jet set. She was a muse to Valentino, and her pieces appeared in the homes of Princess Grace of Monaco, the Shah of Iran and Greek shipping magnate George Livanos.
In 1987, with her children now adults, the designer surprised everyone when she moved to the foot of the Indian Himalayas to study with the guru Sri Muniraj. This turned into a 20-year self-imposed exile that, if anything, made her pieces even more sought-after by collectors.
- Gabriella Crespi Table Lamp Model Fungo Signed VintageBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in Chicago, ILGabriella Crespi vintage brass with white plexiglass shade table lamp Fungo, 1970, Italy. Gabriella Crespi (17.2.1922-14.2 2017) was a famed fe...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- "Fungo" Table Lamp by Gabriella CrespiBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in San Francisco, CAA brass and plexiglass "fungo" table lamp by Gabriella Crespi. Signed. Original European wiring. Some oxidization to the brass base, mast...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
Price Upon Request - Table Lamp by Gabriella Crespi, Italy , 1970'sBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in New York, NYLucite pyramid mounted to an angled base of patinated brass. Signed on the base.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Murano Glass Hurricane Lanterns, PairLocated in East Hampton, NYThese are VERY large Murano glass tall hurricane lanterns with bronze bases and brass candle holders to interiors. These are a rich gray w/ subtle gold...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
MaterialsBronze
$8,500 / set - Gabriella Crespi Signed Wall Appliques, PairBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in East Hampton, NYRare pair of original ribbed acrylic and brass trim frame large wall sconces; These wall lights are designed by Gabriella Crespi in the 1970s, and they are signed to brass frame.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
$28,800 / set - Gabriella Crespi Fungo Table Lamps, Double Signatures on PairBy Gabriella CrespiLocated in East Hampton, NYThese are the largest Fungo lamps by Gabriella Crespi in brass base with white acrylic domed shades. They are double signed at the base and on the top of th...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass