2 Large Gio Ponti's for Fontana Arte Wall Mirrors with Brass Frame
View Similar Items
2 Large Gio Ponti's for Fontana Arte Wall Mirrors with Brass Frame
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Author)
- Dimensions:Height: 58.67 in (149 cm)Width: 27.17 in (69 cm)Depth: 0.99 in (2.5 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:
- Seller Location:PARIS, FR
- Reference Number:Seller: Gio_Ponti_021stDibs: LU8414234031592
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.
- Felix Agostini's 2 Ariel wall lamps, circa 1960By Felix AgostiniLocated in PARIS, FRTwo elegant Felix Agostini's Ariel wall lamps, circa 1960.Category
Vintage 1960s Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBronze
$17,360 / set - Three Goeland Wall Sconces by Felix Agostini, circa 1960By Felix AgostiniLocated in PARIS, FRThree Goeland wall lamps by Felix Agostini, circa 1960.Category
Vintage 1960s Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBronze
- Rare Pair of Felix Agostini Etrier Wall Lamps, circa 1960By Felix AgostiniLocated in PARIS, FRA rare pair of Felix Agostini's Etrier wall lamps, circa 1960.Category
Vintage 1960s Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBronze
- 19th Century Antique Rock Crystal ChandelierLocated in PARIS, FRAn exceptional antique rock crystal pendants chandelier dating back from the end of the 19th century. Crowning the most beautiful store i...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsRock Crystal, Brass
- Agostini's Style Sconces in BronzeBy Felix AgostiniLocated in PARIS, FRElegant pair of Agostini style bronze wall sconces with beige lampshades. Each sconce takes 1 light bulb with max. 60 watt.Category
Vintage 1950s Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBronze
$8,245 / set
- Midcentury Wall Mirror by Fontana Arte, Gio Ponti Attributed Golden Metal FrameBy Fontana Arte, Gio PontiLocated in Vigonza, PaduaClassic mirror Gio Ponti attributed, produced by Fontana Arte from the 1940s, with bevelled mirror and gilt metal frame. The mirror has an imperfection in the silvering produced b...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- 20th Century Gio Ponti Wall Mirror with Brass Frame for Luigi Fontana, 1930sBy Gio Ponti, Luigi FontanaLocated in Turin, TurinAn eclectic personality, from his early days he was active in the fields of architecture, painting, graphics and set design. He graduated in architecture from the Milan Polytechnic i...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti for Luigi Fontana Brass Wall Mirror with Scroll Motif, circa 1940By Fontana Arte, Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYGio Ponti etched brass wall mirror with scroll decoration, for Luigi Fontana, circa, 1940 A grand scale brass shaped mirror with delicate etched petal design motif which follows the ...Category
Vintage 1940s European Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte, Large Brass Framed MirrorBy Fontana ArteLocated in Brooklyn, NYElegant and large rectangular brass framed wall mirror with gently tapering sides. Backed with wood panel.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Gio Ponti Circular Wall Mirror for Luigi Fontana in Nickel BrassBy Gio Ponti, Luigi FontanaLocated in Turin, TurinWonderful Circular Mirror designed in 30s by Gio Ponti for the producer Luigi Fontana. The mirror has a structure in nickel plated brass, on the mirror there is the brandmark of the...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte “Gio Ponti” Mirror Brass Wood Mirrored Glass, 1950, ItalyBy Fontana ArteLocated in Milano, ITFontana Arte mirror.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
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.