Mid-Century Luisa and Ico Parisi Coffee Table
View Similar Items
Mid-Century Luisa and Ico Parisi Coffee Table
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 16.75 in (42.55 cm)Width: 61 in (154.94 cm)Depth: 26.75 in (67.95 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:BROOKLYN, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU179325936543
Ico Parisi
Domenico “Ico” Parisi was one half of a prolific postwar design duo he comprised with his wife, Luisa. Their furniture designs are known for running the stylistic gamut, with celebrated mid-century modern pieces ranging from elegantly skeletal — like dramatic ebonized dining chairs — to plush and shapely, like the iconic 1951 Egg chair, in a plethora of materials.
The son of an art teacher father, Ico Parisi was exposed to art at an early age. Born in 1916 in the Sicilian capital of Palermo, he and his family moved to Como in 1925. There, the young Parisi would begin to develop his interest in architecture and design. After earning a degree as a building inspector in 1936 and working as a civil engineer, Parisi took on an apprenticeship in the studio of Giuseppe Terragni, the modernist, fascist Italian architect, pioneer of the Rationalist movement and creator of the iconic Casa del Fascio.
While working for Terragni, Parisi crossed paths with such contemporary design talents as Lucio Fontana, Bruno Munari and Pietro Lingeri, though he briefly moved away from design and architecture to explore photography and film. His artistic work would soon be interrupted, however, by the outbreak of World War II, during which he served at the front before returning to Como in 1943. There, he resumed work as a designer and architect, founding two architecture groups: the Alta Quota and the Gruppo Como.
Through his creative circles, Parisi met Luisa Aiani, a former student of the prolific architect and furniture designer Gio Ponti, who was affiliated with the Alta Quota. They married in 1947 and founded the studio La Ruota — a cross between a design firm and an intellectual salon — in Como shortly thereafter. In 1950, Parisi finally completed his architectural schooling, studying under the nationalist architect Alberto Sartoris at the Athenaeum Architecture School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He and Aiani began several decades of sophisticated output, designing curved sofas upholstered in yellow velvet and armchairs with slender mahogany frames for enduring Italian manufacturers such as Cassina and others.
Much like Charles and Ray Eames in America, the Parisis worked as a team and relied on experimentation in style and material for many of their designs. Ico Parisi died in Como in 1996.
Find a collection of vintage Ico Parisi coffee tables, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
Ico & Luisa Parisi
The Italian architect, artist and furniture designer Ico Parisi (1916–96) and his wife and frequent collaborator, Luisa Parisi (1914–90), formed one of the most prolific and spirited European design teams of the postwar period. Together they created a magnetic aesthetic that combines the refined angularity and elegance of the work of Gio Ponti with the liveliness and lightness of the furniture of Carlo Mollino.
Ico Parisi — his first name is short for Domenico — was born and raised in Palermo. He moved to the northern Italian city of Como in the early 1930s and lived and worked there the remainder of his life. He initially studied and worked as a civil engineer, but later became an associate in the office of architect Giuseppe Terragni, a leading light of the stern and formal Rationalist design movement. Ico moved in artistic circles that included Lucio Fontana and Bruno Munari; after he married Luisa Aiani — a former student of Gio Ponti’s — in 1947 their design studio became known as an artists’ salon. The couple’s big break as designers came the following year when their work was shown, along with that of Carlo Mollino, Paolo Buffa, Franco Albini and other greats, leading to contracts with manufacturers such as Cassina and Singer & Sons.
What attracted these firms was the Parisis’ fluency with a wide array of furniture forms. No two looks are quite alike. Their body of work includes a series of coffee and dining tables and consoles for Singer & Sons created in the early 1950s that feature notch-edged tops and javelin-shaped legs, and cabinets and credenzas such as those with plain fronts and molded-teak and plywood detailing for MIM Rome (1959). Their chairs range from sleek dining pieces with supple, bone-shaped backrests for Singer & Sons to the lush Model 813 Uovo, or Egg chair, for Cassina (1951). Then, as now, Parisi furnishings can fill an entire decor, yet seem eclectic and at the height of style.
- Mid Century Brazilian modern rosewood and smoked glass coffee tableBy Sergio Rodrigues, Percival LaferLocated in BROOKLYN, NYMid Century Modern Design rosewood glass top coffee table with smoked glass insert. Solid rosewood frame. Good vintage condition shows signs of use on glass top. Made in Brazil. Loca...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSmoked Glass, Rosewood
- Large Mid Century Danish Modern Teak and slate square Coffee TableBy DrylundLocated in BROOKLYN, NYLarge Mid century Danish modern teak 42” square light teak coffee table with slate top - with large round solid teak Legs. Very clean all around beautiful mu...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSlate
- Mid Century Danish Modern Teak square Coffee TableBy DrylundLocated in BROOKLYN, NYMid century Danish modern teak 30” square coffee table - Legs unbolt. Very clean all around. Beautiful teak wood coffee table. No labels. Locate...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
$1,200 / item - Mid Century Modern Birch Swedish Coffee Table by UlfertsBy Ulferts SwedishLocated in BROOKLYN, NYMid-Century Modern Swedish birch veneer low large coffee table blonde finish by Ulferts. Beautiful burl veneer top solid birch legs. Very cle...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBirch
- Mid Century Danish Modern Solid Teak wood Coffee TableBy Hvidt & MølgaardLocated in BROOKLYN, NYBeautiful solid teak coffee table. Amazing jointery on legs very sturdy and great design. Located in Brooklyn NYC. No Labels or MFG marks. Style of Hvidt & Mølgaard Measures ...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Mid century Modern Dutch Round glass steel and leather Safari coffee tableLocated in BROOKLYN, NYMid century modern Round glass Safari sling leather coffee table on black lacquered metal base. Lower circular Magazine or Newspaper shelf in brown leather held up by rope. Table sho...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Rare Cocktail Table by Ico & Luisa ParisiBy M. Singer & Sons, Ico ParisiLocated in New York, NYWalnut, brass. Retailed by M. Singer & Sons, New York. Made in Italy for the American market. Published : Ico Paris & Architecture, Pgs. 198 & 199 for examples of cocktail & console ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Teak Coffee Table by Ico & Luisa Parisi for MIMBy Ico & Luisa ParisiLocated in Montelabbate, PUTeak coffee table by Ico & Luisa Parisi for MIM.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Italian Mid-Century Coffee Table 751 by Ico and Luisa Parisi for Cassina, 1960sBy Cassina, Ico ParisiLocated in MIlano, ITItalian Mid-Century Modern coffee table 751 by Ico and Luisa Parisi for Cassina, 1960s Coffee table mod. 751 with asymmetrical wooden structure, co...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Ico e Luisa Parisi Attributed Coffee Table Como, Italy, 1950By Ico ParisiLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantStunning coffee table with organic shaped walnut base the design is attributed to Ico e Luisa Parisi, Como Italy 1950. A similar dining table from I...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Walnut
- Italian Mahogany and Glass Coffee Table Attributed to Ico & Luisa ParisiBy Ico ParisiLocated in New York, NYItalian mahogany and glass coffee table attributed to Ico & Luisa Parisi. Magnificent dark stained mahogany cocktail table attributed t...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass, Mahogany
- Italian 2 Tier Cocktail Table attributed to Ico & Luisa ParisiBy Ico & Luisa ParisiLocated in Hanover, MAMagnificent cocktail table attributed to Ico & Luisa Parisi. Also similar to smaller designs attributed Gio Ponti for M. Singer & Sons. Two-tier with curled ends supported by sharp ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables