Flag Brass Cabinet by Ugo La Pietra for Banci Firenze, Italy, 1980s

Ugo La Pietra is an Italian architect, designer and artist and he defines himself as a "researcher of visual art". His activity as a researcher began during the 60s when he founded "Il gruppo del Cenobio" (the group of Cenobio) with Agostino Ferrari, Ettore Sordini, Angelo Verga and Arturo Vermi. It was a brief, but intense experience and they represented the only group from Milan who developed the so-called signic movement in contrast with the other cutting-edge groups specialized in pop art, objects, kinetics. La Pietra experienced the synaesthesia between the arts. La Pietra took part in more than 900 personal and collective exhibitions and he exhibited his works in the most important Italian and foreign museums.

For more than a century, Italian manufacturer Banci Firenze has earned acclaim all over the world for its extensive range of innovative lighting and other furniture designs that draw on geometry, nature and modernist architecture.

Founded in 1899 by Giuseppe Banci, Banci Firenze began as a workshop in Florence that initially specialized in restoring glass, crystal and iron chandeliers. During the 1900s, the business evolved — Banci Firenze became a manufacturer of exquisite light fixtures from hand-blown glass, handmade gold leaf and wrought iron. 

Although the company is best known for their meticulously designed chandeliers, wall sconces, flush-mount ceiling lights and table lamps, Banci Firenze’s offerings eventually expanded to include other furnishings during the mid-20th century. Especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s were Banci Firenze’s collection of Hollywood Regency-style pieces, such as glass-topped side tables with gilt flower accents and bases. In the 1970s, dining room tables and cocktail tables characterized by mid-century modernist and Art Deco flourishes were among Banci Firenze’s most popular designs.

In the 1980s, Banci Firenze garnered attention for a unique storage piece designed by the Italian architect and designer Ugo La Pietra. Shaped like a staircase, the so-called “flag cabinet” featured brass drawers, silver-cast ball feet sculpted in brass and a brass flag on a pyramid-shaped top. The cabinet was presented at the Abitare il Tempo exhibition in Verona.

Today, Banci Firenze continues the tradition of designing widely coveted, high-quality lighting and furniture crafted with time-honored Italian techniques. 

On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage Banci Firenze lighting, tables and more furniture and collectibles.