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Paolo Buffa and Giovanni Gariboldi Important Grand Scale Carved Wood Wall Mirror

About the Item

Designed by Paolo Buffa and Giovanni Gariboldi, rare important rectangular mirror with carved painted and gilt wood decorations on original mirrored glass. This exquisite elegant mirror is grand in scale and comprised of applied or three-dimensional carved hand-painted and gilt wood naturalistic (such as flowers and leaves) and classical (such as trumpet, bow and arrows) motifs. Giovanni Gariboldi became the main designer of ceramics at Richard Ginori, after Gio Ponti's gradual departure commencing in 1931. Initially trained as an architect, he also sometimes turned to designing furniture that was in sync with the prevailing Milanese ambient and proved very successful. In fact he was a frequent collaborator of another great Milan architect and designer, Paolo Buffa, whose furniture he was commissioned to embellish with elegant flourishes in intarsia, metal engravings, handles, and sabots. Gariboldi's experience in fine-tuning those brilliant minutae resurfaced much later into some large scale furniture series. His designs stand out in virtue of their pictorial approach. Literature: Roberto Aloi, L' Arredamento Moderno, Milan, 1949, pp. 168, 170, 575

Creator:

Giovanni Gariboldi (Designer),Paolo Buffa (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 61.5 in (156.21 cm)Width: 30.75 in (78.11 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)

Style:

Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Brass,Mirror,Wood,Gilt,Hand-Painted

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

1940-1949

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1949

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. In very good original condition with no chips in glass, some silvering to mirrored glass, rich patina to brass mounts, and very minor loss to carved ivory and gilt painted wood decorations. In overall excellent condition given its age and use.

Seller Location:

New York, NY

Reference Number:

Seller: BUF5011stDibs: LU2917335282212

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Shop All Paolo Buffa

Paolo Buffa

With a surname that loosely translates to a synonym for “bizarre” in Italian, Milanese designer and architect Paolo Buffa is best known for capturing the best of both old and new in his plush, enveloping lounge chairs and wingback chairs as well as his range of modern tables, each dazzling and provocative but built using classical techniques.

Purposely playful and airy, mid-century Italian interiors encouraged merriment and socializing. Buffa’s work was well suited to this, but unlike the postwar designers who established recognizable trademarks and signatures, his vintage furniture for Cassina and other firms — the sculptural side tables and case pieces of walnut and solid oak, the luxurious sheepskin sofas — differed considerably from one design to the next, making them appealing to a range of interior decorators and socialites with specific taste. The son of a highly sought-after artist, Giovanni Buffa, Paolo graduated in 1927 from Politecnico di Milano. He then spent time working under architects and designers Gio Ponti and Emilio Lancia. Ponti, who himself crafted thousands of furnishings and endlessly creative rooms, was so taken with the young designer that in 1928 he featured his simple and elegant rosewood dressing table in his new magazine, Domus.

After opening a firm with his regular collaborator Antonio Cassi Ramelli, Buffa became one of the leading tastemakers of Italian mid-century modern furnishings, designing for villas and residential buildings across the country. His style was a mix of Art Deco, Rationalism, neoclassicism and a bit of whimsy. He used high-quality materials and regularly worked with local ateliers known for their fine craftsmanship to produce his designs, such as Serafino Arrighi and Marelli & Colico. In 1940, he partnered with the Mario Quarti furniture studio on the royal palace of Albania’s King Zog, with Buffa designing the furniture, and in 1951, Egypt’s King Farouk enlisted him to redecorate his yacht.

While Buffa’s transcendent pieces are now collector’s items, there are a few still in production, such as those he made with Angelo Marelli. His eponymous firm, the Italian furniture producer Eredi Marelli, still manufactures some designs based on Buffa’s archives.

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