Italian Showcase in Steel, Wood and Blue Glass, Attributed to Willy Rizzo, 1980s

Marvellous and elegant Italian showcase cabinet from 1970. The excellent quality of dark brown lacquer with glass panels embellished and solid brass is mixed with a lacquered shelf ...

Gorgeous umbrella stand in tortoiseshell effect lucite and chrome. This charming umbrella stand was made in the '80s in Italy after Willy Rizzo. This piece has wonderful yet simple ...

Fantastic Showcase or coffee table fully made in clear lucite. This gorgeous piece was produced in Italy in the 1980s, clearly in the style of Charles Hollis Jones. This versatile ...

Marvellous Italian showcase in wood with sliding crystal glasses. This elegant and versatile object was designed by Dino Cavalli in Italy during the 1970s. The quality of the wood ...

Elegant midcentury service trolley in smoked plexiglass. This magnificent item is in the style of Willy Rizzo and was produced in Italy during the 1980s. This piece is unique beca...

Unique midcentury cubic dry bar in lacquered ash wood, mirrored steel and glass dry bar with hidden wheels. Willy Rizzo probably produced this incredible piece of barware in Italy during the 1970s. The wheeled bar cart's four sides are in mirrored chromed steel, while the top is in dark smoked glass. It moves thanks to four hidden wheels, and the structure is veneered black lacquered oak. A design masterpiece that will become a cult furniture element in a midcentury bar or living room. Italian designer and photographer Willy Rizzo (1928-2013) first came to prominence in the 1960s as both a chronicler of and participant in La Dolce Vita, the glamorous, jet set lifestyle enjoyed by many international celebrities and socialites in the postwar era. While photography was Rizzo's first love, in the 1970s he developed a passion for interiors and launched a second successful career as a luxury furniture designer. Rizzo was born in Naples in 1928 but moved to France early. After expressing an interest in photography at the age of 12, Rizzo's mother gifted him an Agfa Box camera; soon he was shooting portraits of his classmates at Paris's Istituto Statale Italiano Leonardo Da Vinci. In the 1940s, Rizzo began his career as a photojournalist, working for several French publications, including Ciné Mondial, Point de Vue, and Image du Monde. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Rizzo notably covered the Nuremberg Trials and travelled to Tunisia for Point de Vue to photograph the conflict in North Africa, later published in Life Magazine. As his reputation grew, he was hired by France Dimanche to take portraits of the rich and famous at flashy events like the Cannes Film Festival. Rizzo's charm won the trust of royalty, dignitaries, and movie stars, allowing him to capture these public figures in unusually candid moments. Hoping to advance his career further, Rizzo travelled to New York with Black Star Agency in 1947 to photograph American starlets. When he returned to Paris two years later, he was invited to join Jean Prouvost’s newest publication in colour, Paris Match, as head photographer—a position that he held for 20 years and, along the way, sparked a new culture of celebrity photographers who were as intriguing and fashionable as their subjects. In 1959, he became the artistic director of Marie Claire and collaborated with other fashion magazines, such as Vogue. Throughout his career, Rizzo photographed dozens of stars, including Brigitte Bardot, Maria Callas, Salvador Dalí, Marlene Dietrich, Jane Fonda, Gene Kelly, and Gregory Peck, as well as striking up close friendships with famous personalities like Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Jack Nicholson. In 1962, Rizzo famously captured some of the last moments of Marilyn Monroe’s life on film before tragically committing suicide a few weeks later. In 1968, Rizzo married Italian actress Elsa Martinelli, and the pair relocated to Rome. It was here that Rizzo began his work in furniture design, starting with his newly-leased, run-down Roman apartment. Just for personal use (at first), Rizzo created a series one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by modernist icons, such as Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. But as his glitterati friends—Rodolfo Parisi, Gigli Rizzi, Franco Rapetti, Salvador Dalí, Brigitte Bardot, and the like—became admirers of his work, Rizzo was flooded with design commissions. Rizzo went on to furnish apartments for Italian aristocracy in the Palazzo Borghese and Palazzo Ruspoli that same year and quickly earned an international reputation as a designer to the rich and famous. In response to ever-growing demand, he launched his own Tivoli-based company dedicated to contemporary furniture design handmade in lux materials such as wood, marble, stainless steel, brass, and wild boar. Over time, his team of eight grew to 150, and he was able to open shops in France and throughout Europe, as well as in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. With an emphasis on clean lines and geometric forms, Rizzo's tables, chairs, and accessories combined contemporary shapes with traditional materials—in contrast to many of his contemporaries, like Ettore Sottsass and Vico Magistretti, who were popularizing plastic, foam, and other synthetics in furniture production. Rizzo's most successful designs are many low, box-like tables in granite, metal, glass, or burled wood, often embellished with brass or chrome accents or built-in liquor cabinets or trays. Two examples of his most celebrated designs include the Alveo Coffee Table (1970s) for Mario Sabot and the circular Yin Yang Coffee Table...

Beautiful Smoked glass cabinet designed by Willy Rizzo for Mario Sabot, 1970s. The cabinet comes with smoked glass with accenting brass hardware. The frame of the cabinet is made of ...

De Coene, showcase, teak, steel, glass, Belgium, 1960s Modernist showcase with lockable doors, accompanied with a steel frame and wooden shelf. The vitrine features the Brutalist characteristics of De Coene. The showcase was originally designed for a governmental building in Brussels. The Kunstwerkstede De Coene was invited to design the interior project in the late 1950s-1960s. De Coene designed several high-quality pieces exclusively for this building, among others these vitrines. For the design of these pieces, De Coene was inspired by the previous furniture in this building, which were designed by master designer Jules Wabbes. This is reflected for example in the steel frame. De Coene was founded in 1887 in Kortrijk (Belgium) by Jozef de Coene, who was at that time 13 years old. In 1895, his younger brother Adolphe joined the company. In their early years, De Coene was inspired by Henry van de Velde, Art Deco and the Arts & Crafts movement. The company made many custom made furnishings which leads to an expansive growth. After world war one, the brother visited the United States where they became acquainted with laminated wood production, and purchased a wood-stripping machine. They were the first company that made triplex in Belgium which led to the ability to mass produce. In 1954 they received the right to produce Knoll furniture. But although the company produced on a large-scale, their were still world famous for their meticulously detailed, high-quality and Art Deco inspired furniture.

Showcase, pine, glass, metal, Europe, 1950s. This sizable showcase is over 200 cm (6.5 feet) tall and wide and is made in Europe in the 1950s. With all glass sides and due to its la...

Italian bookcase showcase in solid walnut with four doors with ground glass and four drawers. The glass top is detached from the base which has ano...

Six feet tall and four-level glass shelves Mid-Century Modern showcase made in Italy. Wooden base and tall glass and chrome column display or stora...

Blonde wood framed cabinet with mirror back interior thick lipped edge shelves. Sides and top are glass with two sliding glass doors . One door is original one door is eighth inch gl...