Fontana Arte Round Mirror
About the Item
- Creator:Pietro Chiesa (Designer),Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 3 in (7.62 cm)Diameter: 23 in (58.42 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Late 1940s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very good condition, entirely original with authentic signs of age including some losses to silvering and scratching to glass on the backside where it meets the wall.
- Seller Location:Hanover, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU886616530882
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Hanover, MA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte Dodecagon Crystal AshtrayBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Hanover, MATwelve sided cut crystal ashtray with three wheel-ground optic bubble dimples by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsOptical Glass
- Rare Table Lamp Attributed to Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Hanover, MARare table lamp attributed to Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, circa 1935-1940. Saint Gobain glass base, brass and enameled metal. Original clear bent glass two-piece shade. Entirely ...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum, Brass
- 1950's Italian Chandelier Manner of Fontana Arte Etched Curved Glass PetalsBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in Hanover, MAKnock-your-socks-off gorgeous 1950's Italian chandelier in the style of Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Five curved etched glass 'petals' supported by scrolled brass arms and foliat...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass, Aluminum
- 1940s Italian Curved Glass Pendant in the Manner of Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Angelo LeliiLocated in Hanover, MA1940s Italian chandelier in the style of Fontana Arte. Tripod form candelabra pendant fixture with ivory enameled armature suspended from a slim ste...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Duilio 'Dubé' Barnabe Reverse Painted Glass Top Cocktail Table for Fontana ArteBy Duilio Dubé Bernabe, Fontana ArteLocated in Hanover, MADuilio Barnabe (known as Dube) reverse painted glass top cocktail table with slightly concave sides and convex fishtail ends by Fontana Arte on black lacq...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCrystal
- Pair of Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte #2368 Chiseled Glass & Nickel Wall SconcesBy Max Ingrand, Fontana ArteLocated in Hanover, MAMax Ingrand model 2368. Arrestingly beautiful wall sconces by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte, circa 1963. Each sconce consists of a custom mirror polished nickel plated brass 'boat sh...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass, Nickel
- Italian Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte Attributed Round Glass Convex MirrorBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte attributed round glass convex mirror. This stunning Italian Mid-Century Modern convex mirror is comprised of a round sheet of glass surrounded ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Convex Mirrors
MaterialsGlass, Mirror
- Italian Modern Fontana Arte Style MirrorBy Fontana Arte, VECA, Cristal Arte, Pietro Chiesa, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Fontana Arte Style Mirror. Outstanding Italian reverse decorated style mirror in the style of Pietro Cheisa for Fontana Arte. This fabulous Italian midcentury transparent mir...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Hollywood Regency Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- Italian Modern Fontana Arte Style Beveled MirrorBy Cristal Arte, Pietro Chiesa, VECA, Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Modern Fontana Arte Inspired Beveled Mirror. Stunning Italian mid century modern round beveled mirror in the manner of Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. This mirror would be pe...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- Italian Fontana Arte Style Curved Glass MirrorBy Fontana Arte, Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Fontana Arte style curved glass mirror. Stunning rectangular mirror superimposed on a large curved quadrangular beveled green glass...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsGlass, Mirror
- Italian Modern Fontana Arte Inspired Beveled MirrorBy Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Houston, TXItalian Modern Fontana Arte Inspired Beveled Mirror. Stunning Italian mid century modern round beveled mirror in the manner of Pietro Chiesa for Fontana...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror
- Large Italian Fontana Arte Style Horizontal Beveled MirrorBy Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand, Gio PontiLocated in Houston, TXLarge Italian Fontana Arte style horizontal beveled mirror. Stunning Italian Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte style horizontal octagonal mirror. This fabulous mirror...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsMirror