Four Ribbon Series Dining Chairs, Maurizio Tempestini for Salterini, circa 1955
View Similar Items
Four Ribbon Series Dining Chairs, Maurizio Tempestini for Salterini, circa 1955
About the Item
- Creator:John Salterini (Manufacturer),Maurizio Tempestini (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33 in (83.82 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)Depth: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)Seat Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1955
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. No structural damages; excellent, original condition.
- Seller Location:Jersey City, NJ
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU80738321013
Maurizio Tempestini
Italian architect and furniture designer Maurizio Tempestini is well-known among vintage outdoor furniture aficionados for his sculptural Clamshell line and other elegant mid-century modern furnishings for patios and gardens.
Born in Florence in 1908, Tempestini completed his studies in Industrial Decoration at the Porta Romana Art Institute in 1929. His career as an interior architect and furniture and lighting designer flourished during the early 1930s. It was during this time Tempestini was also active as a set designer for several Italian theater productions, including Mario Massa’s Osteria degli immortali and Luigi Bonelli’s comedy Il Gigli.
Tempestini then turned his attention from the stage to designing furniture and decorative objects. He crafted pieces for ceramics factory Cantagalli in Florence, as well as for Murano glass manufacturers Seguso and Cappellin.
In 1934, Tempestini worked on the external renovation of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni at the Parterre di San Gallo in Florence for the Littoriali Exhibition. Later, in 1938, he formed a studio with architects Nello Baroni and Pietro Porcinai before cofounding the legendary postwar Italian lighting maker Arteluce with designer and engineer Gino Sarfatti in 1939.
During the 1950s, Tempestini designed lighting fixtures for Lightolier and began to collaborate with Brooklyn, New York’s John B. Salterini Company. Salterini was an Italian emigree who initially worked in journalism before becoming an eminent producer of high-end wrought-iron furniture.
Tempestini’s modernist outdoor furniture for Salterini resembled indoor seating manufactured by the likes of Knoll or Artifort — his chairs and other seating boasted organic curves and seductive, unconventional shapes. His work complemented Salterini’s own handmade designs, which reflected Gothic Revival and Art Deco influences. Together the designers produced successful lines of garden and patio furniture for Salterini’s eponymous firm.
Tempestini’s name soon became widely known in the United States. His designs were first introduced to the American public in 1951 through Gimbels Department Store and Suniland Furniture in Houston, Texas. Today his bold and stylish patio furniture remains sought after by collectors everywhere.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Maurizio Tempestini garden elements, lounge chairs and tables.
John Salterini
While John B. Salterini designed ornate wrought-iron garden furniture for patios and lawns, he specifically sought to match the forms of indoor furniture and also advocated the use of his furniture indoors “because it brings into your home the freshness and gaiety of a flowery summer garden” (per his print advertisements).
After emigrating from Italy to New York, Salterini worked in journalism at first, editing a newspaper in Syracuse. When he moved to New York City, he worked in glass manufacturing and then entered into the production of wrought-iron furniture as a partner in Salterini & Gallo. When that company shuttered, he launched his own eponymous firm in 1934, eventually offering some of the most exquisite, high-end outdoor furniture of the mid-century period.
Over the course of his career, Salterini designed a wide range of furniture, from tables and chairs to chaise longues, ottomans and benches. And his influences were equally wide as well. His work is often identified as mid-century modern — the Clamshell line, designed for Salterini’s company by like-minded Italian architect and industrial designer Maurizio Tempestini, boasts soft curves and cocoon-like shells that strike a sharp contrast with the solidity of wrought iron and resemble the zany chair designs emerging during the postwar period from designers like Pierre Paulin and Arne Jacobsen.
The furniture from John B. Salterini Company also combined organic and geometric forms, one of the mid-century design movement’s defining features. But Salterini was equally influenced by the Gothic Revival and Art Deco movements, incorporating their signature flourishes like intricate lace-like patterns, delicate vine leaves and protruding scrolls into his French Provincial Group’s glass-topped tables and chairs. One of his most ornate and ostentatious designs is the Peacock double chaise longue, with its elaborate spokes and arching back.
The postwar boom in prosperity and leisure time led to the expansion of the home to include patios, which needed to be furnished with stylish outdoor furniture.
Wrought iron was considered the best material for outdoor use because of its comparative lightness and pliability to other metals. The term “wrought” means made by hand, as opposed to “cast” iron, which was made using molds. Salterini’s high-end handcrafted furniture, with names like Park Avenue Group — promoted for indoor use and photographed as such for the firm’s catalogues — attracted wealthy buyers from across the country. They were drawn to his ability to make a metal like wrought iron look almost ethereal and elegant, and the way he incorporated the popular styles and design principles of the day into his pieces. That Salterini’s garden furniture can be used indoors and look completely natural is a rare feat.
Find vintage John B. Salterini outdoor furniture on 1stDibs.
- Set of Four Dining Chairs Marked Made in Italy, Circa 1955By Gio PontiLocated in Jersey City, NJFour dining chairs with a patinated brass frame an open back and stretcher around each tapered arched leg. The seat and back have been upholstered in a brown microsuede fabric.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$2,000 Sale Price / set75% Off - Six Stackable Polished Aluminium Dining Height Chairs by Allermuir, UK, 1998Located in Jersey City, NJSix "Luna" stacking chairs in polished cast aluminium designed by Amos Marchant and Lyndon Anderson of Blue Design in 1996, manufactured by Allermuir in 1998.Category
1990s Dining Room Chairs
- Four Chairs for Dining or Game Table Circa 1950 DenmarkBy Gio PontiLocated in Jersey City, NJSet of four chairs with great detail; tapered legs and arched apron that support the seat and surrounding bullnose edge. The spindle backs are splayed, rounded and tapered at top and...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
$4,000 Sale Price / set33% Off - Pair of TRI 15 Chairs by Roberto Gabetti & AImaro Isola for Arbo, Italy, 1968By Roberto Gabetti and Aimaro Isola, ArboLocated in Jersey City, NJOriginal pair of black leather TRI 15 chairs designed in 1968 by architects Roberto Gabetti and Aimaro Isola with U-shaped detailed legs and frame in tubular ch...Category
Vintage 1960s Dining Room Chairs
- Four Rare Red Chairs Designed by Charlotte Perriand, France Circa 1955By Charlotte PerriandLocated in Jersey City, NJ*SUMMER SALE* Set of four stackable dining chairs in original red leather. The seat and back are stitched together and riveted to the chrome frame. The chairs are in the original con...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$4,800 Sale Price / set60% Off - Pair of Solid Oak Lounge Chairs, France, circa 1965Located in Jersey City, NJPair of French modernist lounge or side chairs with wool fabric upholstery and solid oak triangular frames.Category
Vintage 1960s Lounge Chairs
- Set of 6 Maurizio Tempestini for Salterini Midcentury Black Metal ChairsBy Salterini, Maurizio TempestiniLocated in New York, NYSET of 6 midcentury black metal "Ribbon" dining chairs with woven rope seats, the seat and arms comfortably sloping in a gently S-c...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Set of Four Salterini Dinette Chairs, Attributed to Maurizio TempestiniBy Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in Chicago, ILBeautiful form and craftsmanship on these. Wrought iron. Need to add dimsCategory
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsIron
- Mid-Century Modern 6pc. Set Salterini Radar by Maurizio Tempestini C1955By Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in Port Jervis, NYFabulous 6 piece set of "Radar" outdoor patio dining set. Incudes 4 chairs 48" round top table with an umbrella hole and the heavy solid cast iron art deco umbrella holder. In excell...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Patio and Garden Furniture
MaterialsSteel, Iron
- Rare Set of Four Maurizio Tempestini White Lacquer Iron Frame and Mesh ChairsBy Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in Chicago, ILRare set of four Maurizio Tempestini for Salterini white lacquer over wrought iron framed and iron mesh outdoor dining chairs. Minimalist design with open arms and linear form, iron ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWrought Iron
- Set of 8 Restored Tempestini for Salterini Radar White Powder Coated Iron ChairsBy Salterini, TempestiLocated in Philadelphia, PAA set of eight beautiful chairs designed by Maurizio Tempestini for prestigious manufacturer Salterini. Dubbed the "Radar" chairs, all chairs in this set have been professionally res...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsEnamel, Iron
- Signed Maurizio Tempestini for John Salterini Ottoman Foot Stool Circa 1960sBy Maurizio Tempestini, John SalteriniLocated in Peabody, MAItalian rope and wrought iron ottoman designed by Maurizio Tempestini for John Salterini, circa 1960s. Retains its "JBS [John B. Salterini] Made in Italy" tag. Measures 20" wide x ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Footstools
MaterialsWrought Iron