Vintage Fontana Arte Glass Table Lamp
View Similar Items
Vintage Fontana Arte Glass Table Lamp
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 14.57 in (37 cm)Diameter: 7.88 in (20 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Copenhagen K, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU101128960223
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.
- Vintage Table Lamp in Mercury Glass with Customized Shade, Sweden, 20th CenturyLocated in Copenhagen K, DKSweden, Vintage Mercury glass table lamp with customized shade by The Apartment. H 36 x Ø 20 cmCategory
20th Century Swedish Table Lamps
MaterialsTextile, Mercury Glass
- Vintage Gustave Reynaud Ceramic Table Lamp with Customized Shade, France, 1960'sLocated in Copenhagen K, DKGustave Reynaud. France, 1960's. Ceramic table lamp with customized shade by The Apartment. Measures: H 58 x Ø 30 cmCategory
Vintage 1960s French Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Textile
- Vintage Ceramic Table Lamp with Customized Shade, France, 1970'sLocated in Copenhagen K, DKFrance, 1970's. Ceramic table lamp with customized shade. Measures: H 73 x Ø 38 cm.Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- Vintage Pink Murano Table Lamp with Customized Blue Shade, Italy, 1950sLocated in Copenhagen K, DKItaly, 1950s Murano table lamps in pink glass with customized shade by The Apartment. H 29 x Ø 16 cmCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsMurano Glass, Textile, Glass
- Vintage Amber Murano Table Lamp with Customized Blue Shade, Italy, 1950sLocated in Copenhagen K, DKItaly, 1950's Murano table lamps in amber glass with customized shade by The Apartment. H 29 x Ø 16 cmCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsTextile, Glass, Murano Glass
- Vintage Gustave Reynaud Ceramic Table Lamp with Customized Shade, France, 1950sBy Gustave ReynaudLocated in Copenhagen K, DKGustave Reynaud France, 1950's Ceramic table lamp with customized shade by The Apartment. H 55 x Ø 30 cmCategory
Vintage 1950s French Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Textile
- Vintage Fontana Arte Glass and Brass Triangular LampBy Fontana ArteLocated in Chicago, ILVintage glass and brass triangular lamp attributed to Fontana Arte or in the style of. Unmarked. Shows good age dating to the mid-20th century. Style o...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsGlass
- 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
- Fontana Arte Table Lamp Brass Glass, 1950, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte table lamp brass glass, 1950, Italy.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- FONTANA 1853 - Large Table Lamp - White Satin Glass by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Beverly Hills, CADesigned in 1954 by the famous French Master glassmaker and decorator Max Ingrand, this lamp was originally named 1853 and, at a later time, Fontana, in homage to the company of whic...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- FONTANA 1853 - Small Table Lamp - White Satin Glass by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Beverly Hills, CADesigned in 1954 by the famous French Master glassmaker and decorator Max Ingrand, this lamp was originally named 1853 and, at a later time, Fontana, in homage to the company of whic...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- FONTANA 1853 - Medium Table Lamp - White Satin Glass by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Beverly Hills, CADesigned in 1954 by the famous French Master glassmaker and decorator Max Ingrand, this lamp was originally named 1853 and, at a later time, Fontana, in homage to the company of whic...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal