Bar Cabinet by Fontana Arte with Pink Etched Mirror Glass and Walnut Structure
View Similar Items
Bar Cabinet by Fontana Arte with Pink Etched Mirror Glass and Walnut Structure
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Cabinetmaker)
- Dimensions:Height: 56.11 in (142.5 cm)Width: 48.04 in (122 cm)Depth: 16.34 in (41.5 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930s
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Chiavari, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6764228928372
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.
- Alberto Salvati and Ambrogio Tresoldi Sideboard Cabinet with Pink Mirrors, 1960sBy Salvati & TresoldiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaThis sideboard cabinet, crafted in the 1960s by Alberto Salvati and Ambrogio Tresoldi, is a prime example of how neoclassical design principles were incorporated into midcentury Furn...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Credenzas
MaterialsGlass, Cherry, Teak
- Antonio Cassi Ramelli two bodies bar cabinet made of wood and brass, Italy 1950sBy Paolo Buffa, Antonio Cassi RamelliLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaThe bar cabinet, composed of two bodies and adorned with doors and shelves, represents a remarkable fusion of craftsmanship and design sensibility. Crafted from wood and brass, with ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsBrass
- A grissinato bar cabinet with inlaid decors by Emanuale Rambaldi, Italy, 1930sBy Emanuele RambaldiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaAn exceptional inlaid bar cabinet with grissinato details, designed and crafted as a unique piece by the talented Emanuele Rambaldi in Italy during ...Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Cabinets
MaterialsWalnut
- Fontana Arte fiberglass and glass coffee table model 2542, Italy, 1960sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA rare coffee table model 2542 by Fontana Arte combines contrasting yet complementary materials: fiberglass and crystal. This unusual combination, characterized by their plastic vers...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Organic Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Fiberglass
- Floor Lamp by Max Ingrand Model 2003 for Fontana Arte, Made in Glass and BrassBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA floor lamp Model "2003" designed by Max Ingrand and manufactured by Fontana arte in the 1960s with a clear crystal base, a white satin glass lampshade and a gilt brass structure. ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- GIo Ponti "grissinato" bar cabinet made of oak, Italy, 1940sBy Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaBar cabinet with shelves and doors in oak wood, Italian craftsmanship from the 1940s, designed by Gio Ponti. This oak furniture, a perfect ad...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Art Deco Midcentury Cabinet, Dry Bar in the Style of Borsani and Fontana ArteBy Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in Saint-Ouen, FRThis pectacular and very rare bar cabinet created by Vittorio Dassi is from the 1940s It features 6 doors opening on various storage compartments .Top left has got 2 shelves as top right opens to reveal a very elegant bar .This bar is lit by the top and has got mirrors on its sides, 1 glass shelf and 2 little shelves hold by silver bronze brackets on its doors. Bottom left section opens on 1 large drawer and bottom right section opens on a series fo drawers. Externally it is made of rich burled walnut and cedar .Each door features gorgeous engraved green Arte Fontana glass handles hold by 2 guilt bronze claws. Its base is very elegant too, with its sculptural shape ,its brass trim and its central Arte Fontana glass decor. Its top is in black opaline. It is a top of the range quality piece of furniture as the front of its drawer and its doors are very deep and sturdy. This sideboard is a real Italian masterpiece of the period, in very good condition with slight signs of wear consistent with age and gentle use. Very clean interior. It has to its original 4 working keys. This credenza is the style of Paolo Buffa, Guglielmo Ulrich, Gio Ponti, Vittorio Dassi, Michele Merighi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsGlass, Opaline Glass, Wood
- Bar Cabinet with Zodiac Etched Mirrored Glasses in the Style of Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Rome, ITRare Bar Cabinet, front doors decorated with a finely etched Zodiac motifs mirrored glasses. Resting on four legs. Attributed to Gio Ponti. Glasses in very good vintage condition.Category
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsArt Glass
- Bar Cabinet with Zodiac Etched Mirrored Glasses in the Style of Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Rome, ITRare Bar Cabinet, front doors decorated with a finely etched Zodiac motifs mirrored glasses. Resting on four legs. Attributed to Gio Ponti. Glasses in very good vintage condition.Category
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsArt Glass
- Wood, Glass, Parchment and Mirror Bar and Cabinet Set by Englander & Bonta, 1950By Englander & BontaLocated in Buenos Aires, Buenos AiresWood, glass, parchment and mirror bar and cabinet set by Englander & Bonta. Argentina, circa 1950. It comes with glass shelves.Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsGlass, Mirror, Wood, Parchment Paper
- Wood, Glass, Parchment and Mirror Bar and Cabinet Set by Englander & Bonta, 1950By Englander & BontaLocated in Buenos Aires, Buenos AiresWood, glass, parchment and mirror bar and cabinet set by Englander & Bonta. Argentina, circa 1950. It comes with glass shelves.Category
Vintage 1950s Argentine Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsParchment Paper, Glass, Mirror, Wood
- Bronze Mirrored Bar Cabinet by ElloBy Ello FurnitureLocated in Palm Springs, CAA two-part mirrored cabinet on chest, perfect for a bar. Two mirrored doors above three mirrored drawers with modern inset brass campaign handles, on a brass base with brass sides. G...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass