Gio Ponti for Cassina Lounge Armchairs, Refinished & Reupholstered, Italy 1950s
View Similar Items
Gio Ponti for Cassina Lounge Armchairs, Refinished & Reupholstered, Italy 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Depth: 30 in (76.2 cm)Seat Height: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Reupholstered. Refinished. Excellent restored condition, ready for immediate use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1330234368842
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.
- Rare Settee by Gio Ponti for Cassina, Refinished and Reupholstered, Italy 1950sBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAAn exceptionally rare and coveted settee by Gio Ponti for Cassina, circa 1950s, with reupholstered white bouclé fabric cushions, refinished elm frames with incredible wood grain, sig...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsBouclé, Elm
$22,200 Sale Price20% Off - Very Rare Model 175-C Sculptured Lounge Armchair by Vladimir Kagan, c 1950sBy Vladimir KaganLocated in Los Angeles, CAAn incredibly rare and highly sought-after Vladimir Kagan Model 175C 'Sculptured Walnut Arm Chair' designed in 1950 (see catalogue photo), this early product...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
$16,300 Sale Price29% Off - Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk, Style of Gio Ponti, c 1950s, RefinishedBy Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CABeautifully refinished Mid-Century Modern desk produced in Italy circa 1950s. Featuring black steel and wood frame with large brass elements and alternating black and white drawer fr...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
$4,400 Sale Price20% Off - Gio Ponti for Singer & Sons #2135 Extendable Dining Table, c 1950, RefinishedBy M. Singer & Sons, Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis restored Model 2135 extendable dining table with four leaves by Gio Ponti for Singer & Sons features gorgeously veined Italian Walnut with sculpted legs to Gio Ponti's signature...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
$13,600 Sale Price20% Off - Leather Lounge Armchairs by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin, Pair AvailableBy Milo Baughman, Thayer CogginLocated in Los Angeles, CAThese stylish full-grain leather lounge armchairs are by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin, originally designed in 1966, this set newer, and produced by Thayer Coggin in High Point, No...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsStainless Steel
$1,760 Sale Price / item20% Off - Mario Bellini for Cassina 'Cab 414' Leather Lounge Chair, Signed, circa 1980sBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Los Angeles, CAA beautiful black leather Mario Bellini Cab lounge chair, Model #414, signed Cassina, designed in the 1970s. These fine examples of the cab line by Mario Bellini for Cassina are classic staples for luxury interior designers and collectors alike, these lounge variations of the design are larger and deeper than the similar dining armchair, and have the addition of the seat cushion. Signed underneath with Cassina embossing to the leather. Mario Bellini described the 1970s bestselling design for the Cab collection as “This was a new kind of chair, constructed totally out of leather, much cloned since then.” and is now a signature piece in Cassina’s Contemporanei collection. Cab was the first-ever chair to feature a free-standing leather structure, inspired by how our skin fits over our skeleton. The upholstery consists of sixteen pieces of saddle leather. They then undergo fourteen discrete procedures, again by hand. The pieces are sewn together only when their outer edges have been trimmed to ensure a perfect fit. Once assembled, the cover is attached to the chair’s steel skeleton and held in place by means of a zipper fastening as in a bespoke tailored...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$3,400 Sale Price22% Off
- Gio Ponti Armchair for Cassina, Italy, 1950sBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYGio Ponti armchair manufactured by Cassina in the 1950s. In original condition with ebonized frame, green leather covering and brass feet. Condition: Good vintage condition, minor...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Gio Ponti for Cassina Pair of Armchairs in CherryBy Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Waalwijk, NLGio Ponti for Cassina, pair of armchairs, model 516, cherry, Kvadrat Balder fabric, Cassina, Italy, 1955. This pair of armchairs is designed by Gio Ponti and manufactured by Cassina...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Cherry
$29,700 / set - Gio Ponti For I.S.A Wingback Armchair, 1950s MidcenturyBy Gio PontiLocated in London, GBA gorgeous and important wingback armchair from the design master Gio Ponti for I.S.A. Bergamo, designed in the 1940s and produced in the 1950s Italy, an innovative sleek design of m...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- A Pair of Model 803 Armchairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina, 1950sBy Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Helsinki, FIA Pair of model 803 armchairs by Gio Ponti for Cassina, 1950s. Oak and fabric upholstery. Good vintage condition, minor patina consistent with age and use. The armchairs are sold as ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Oak
- Gio Ponti, Lounge Chairs, Walnut, Blue And White Velvet, Cassina, Italy, 1950sBy Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in High Point, NCA pair of walnut and blue and white velvet lounge chairs designed by Gio Ponti and produced by Cassina, Italy, 1950s. With a certificate of...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Walnut
- Gio Ponti Model 516 Armchair, Painted Walnut, Cream White, 1950By Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Brooklyn, NYPair of armchairs, model “516”, originally designed by Ponti for the furnishing of Tranatlantico Conte Biancamano, Manufactured by Figli di Amadeo Cassina (Cassina), Italy, c. 1950 pierced slat back, off-white cream painted walnut, white woven cotton textile. Provenance: Private Collection, Connecticut, USA. Measurements 78 cm x 62 cm x 79.5h cm 30 3/4 in x 24 3/8 in x 31 1/4 in height Literature Galleria Deposito A...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTextile, Walnut
$8,760 Sale Price / item40% Off
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.