Bis Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
View Similar Items
Bis Table Lamp by Fontana Arte
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Diameter: 14.75 in (37.47 cm)
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Voltage:110-150v
- Lampshade:Included
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1956
- Condition:Refinished. Rewired: Very good. Metal has been polished out and new wiring and sockets added. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 63 FA 101stDibs: LU785632432722
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.
- Rare Pair of Table Lamps #2202, by Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYOxidized brass, frosted glass. Fantastic and playful forms that can sit on a table top in a variety of positions. One candelabra (E12) socket per lamp. All wiring has recently been u...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$14,500 / set - Rare Table Lamps by Max Ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYPainted aluminum, fabric. Cast aluminum table lamps, each with 2 x E12, (candelabra) sockets and newly made fabric shades. A very rare model.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
$36,000 / set - Rare "Disco Volante" Table Lamp by Max Ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYPolished and acid-etched glass diffusers in pale-rose and natural glass colors. Brass base, standard, mounts and finial, with lower push switch. 3 candelabras sockets. Produced by Fo...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Pair of Table Lamps #2228, by Max Ingrand for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in New York, NYCrystal-cut glass, colored glass, nickel-plated brass. Exceptional & rare pair of petite lamps with one candelabra socket per lamp. Very good condition, all elements have been recent...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Nickel
- Wall-Mounted Console by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYGlass, brass. Fantastic system for wall mounting and beautiful slab glass top.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte Wall LightsBy Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYRare Pair of Sconces by Fontana Arte. Blue colored glass, acid-etched glass, brass. Each sconce takes 1 x E12 (candelabra) bulb.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
$16,500 / set
- Table lamp Bis by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Benalmadena, ESElegant table lamp designed by Fontana Arte in 1954. Bromated base with double curved crystal top in black with burgundy red reflections when lit, and lower translucent white that em...Category
20th Century Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Fontana Arte Bis Table Lamp with Chrome Base and Black Glass, Italy, 1960sBy Fontana ArteLocated in New York, NYA masterpiece from Fontana Arte, this table lamp is a light and delicate design for a sophisticated home.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Fontana Arte Italian Table LampBy Fontana Arte, Richard CarruthersLocated in bari, ITPugno model table lamp in stainless steel and Richard Carruthers lacquered metal for Fontana Arte 1971.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Model 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAModel 0408 Table Lamp by Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1930s. Desk lamp comprising of an aluminum trough shaped diffused and classic teal hued glass by ...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Table Lamp Fontana Arte Candle KoiBy Fontana ArteLocated in Torino, PiemonteCandle Koi table lamp produced by Fontana Arte Italia. Lamp with modern and elegant design made of steel and plastic, with spotlights. The spotlights are adjustable. Perfectly workin...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Table Lamp Attribuite to Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CATable lamp attribuite to Fontana Arte, it is a fairly rare lamp and in perfect condition. The switch is to the touch, by touching the small metal wire that can be seen in one of the ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$3,040 Sale Price20% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
We Took Over a Historic Milan Palazzo and Filled It with Edgy Design
With "A New Breed," we showcased exceptional pieces by rising talents, a rapidly growing area of strength among 1stdibs' many offerings.
Mid-Century Master Osvaldo Borsani Gets His Due at Donzella
The New York City gallery has devoted its latest show to the work of the modernist Italian designer.