Set of 4 Superleggera chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina 1980
View Similar Items
Set of 4 Superleggera chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina 1980
About the Item
- Creator:
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 32.68 in (83 cm)Width: 15.75 in (40 cm)Depth: 18.12 in (46 cm)Seat Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1980
- Condition:
- Seller Location:JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FR
- Reference Number:Seller: 40571stDibs: LU7997233803322
Gio Ponti
An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti (1891–1979) designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, lamps 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.
His 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 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 Gio Ponti furniture on 1stDibs.
Cassina
Furniture manufacturer Cassina is a prolific design house for more reasons than one: It not only owns the licenses to an exquisite collection of iconic chairs, sofas, tables and other pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries but also produces original works that are characterized by innovation and the finest Italian craftsmanship.
Cassina’s illustrious legacy includes being one of the first companies to bring industrial design to Italy in the 1950s. Founded in 1927 in Meda, Italy, by brothers Cesare and Umberto Cassina, the Italian manufacturing giant originally specialized in bespoke woodworking. In nearly a century since its founding, the company has shown incredible foresight about design trends and the evolution of technology.
In 1964, Cassina signed an exclusive licensing agreement to manufacture furniture by Le Corbusier and his collaborators — such as the LC4 chaise longue made with trailblazing French modernist Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret — a move that would shape the future of the company. Cassina’s I Maestri collection is an ongoing initiative to restyle landmark designs from the 20th century, such as pieces by Gerrit Rietveld (the Red and Blue armchair from 1918), Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Erik Gunnar Asplund, Franco Albini and Frank Lloyd Wright. The company preserves the intentions and original styles of their designs but adds updated techniques, materials and processes — rendering them the best possible combination of past, present and future. The brand has also worked with contemporary icons like Zaha Hadid, Gio Ponti and Philippe Starck.
Cassina’s original designs are cutting-edge as well. They include pieces for everyday use, the development of which is guided by comfort and the marriage of Italian craftsmanship with industrial technology.
Some of Cassina’s pieces, both from its contemporary and I Maestri collections, can be found in the collections of museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Vitra Design Museum. In 2014, the company became part of Haworth in its acquisition of Italian furniture group Poltrona Frau, and in 2015, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola joined Cassina as its art director, leading the brand into its next century of inventive style.
Find a collection of new and vintage Cassina furniture on 1stDibs.
- Set of 6 Arcadia chairs by Paolo Piva for B&B Italia, 1980By Paolo Piva, B&B ItaliaLocated in JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FRSet of 6 Arcadia chairs by Paolo Piva for B&B Italia in the 80s (publisher embossed under the seat) Structure in metal covered with a black leather Curved backrest. 2 sets of 6 avail...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Set of 6 chairs by Luigi Gorgoni for Roche Bobois 1970By Luigi Gorgoni, Roche BoboisLocated in JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FRSet of 6 chairs designed by Luigi Gorgoni for Roche Bobois in the 80s Structure in elm, seat and back covered by a brown leather Nice patina of timeCategory
Mid-20th Century European Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Elm
- Set of 6 Chairs Model Cosmos by Eric Raffy for Soca, 1989Located in JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FRSet of 6 chairs model Cosmos designed by Eric Raffy and produced by Soca in 1989 Minimalist structure all in black lacquered metal Seat in wood.Category
Late 20th Century French Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Set of 4 Wendy Wright chairs by Philippe Starck for Disform 1986By Philippe Starck, DisformLocated in JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FRSet of 4 chairs by Philippe Starck for Disform in 1986 4 feet, a seat and a backrest, all in metal lacquered in dark grey Minimalist designCategory
Late 20th Century French Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Set of 6 Mirandolina Chairs by Pietro Arosio for Zanotta in, 1990By Pietro Arosio, ZanottaLocated in JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FRChair, model Mirandolina, by Pietro Arosio for Zanotta in 1996. Set of 6 All made in aluminum. Trace of time in the metal.Category
Late 20th Century Italian Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Set of 4 Manila chairs by Val Padilla for Jasper Conran 1970Located in JASSANS-RIOTTIER, FRSet of 4 chairs designed by Val Padilla for Jasper Conran in the seventies Manila model Structure in steel and wood, seat in rope Very chic designCategory
Mid-20th Century European Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Set d 6 chairs Superleggera, Gio Ponti, CassinaBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, LombardiaThis incredible set of 6 Superleggera chairs designed by Gio Ponti for Cassina in 1950 embodies the elegance and lightness of modern aesthetics. These iconic chairs feature clean, sl...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
$18,556 / set - Gio Ponti Superleggera chairs Cassina Italy 1957By Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantRare set of 6 original Superleggera (super light) chairs designed by Gio Ponti and manufactured by Cassina in Italy in 1957. The 699 Superleggera, which has been a star in Cassina's ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
$10,980 / set - AMazing Set of 4 SuperLeggera chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina - 1950By Gio PontiLocated in Uccle, BESuperb set of 4 SuperLeggera chairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina in the 1950s. They are in very good vintage condition, with no defects. The seats were redone because the original seats ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Set of 10 Gio Ponti 699 Superleggera by Cassina in BlackBy Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Berlin, DESet of 10 Gio Ponti 699 Superleggera by Cassina in black Manufactured since 1957, the Superleggera wood chair is the rare combination of the architec...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
- Italian Design Classic Gio Ponti, Superleggera Chair, Cassina, 2000sBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Renens, CHThe "699 Superleggera" chair is an iconic design created by the renowned Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti. Designed in 1957, this chair is celebrated for its lightweight (j...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
- Set Of Eight 699 "Superleggera" Chairs Designed By Gio Ponti for Amedeo Cassina.By Gio PontiLocated in Madrid, ESSet of eight chairs mod. Superleggera designed by Gio Ponti for Figli Di Amadeo Cassina. Made of solid ash wood and rattan. Italy 1957. Its construction challenge is contained in the...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsRattan, Ash
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.