20th Century Italian Studio PFR Teak Writing Desk by Ponti, Fornaroli & Rosselli
View Similar Items
20th Century Italian Studio PFR Teak Writing Desk by Ponti, Fornaroli & Rosselli
About the Item
- Creator:Antonio Fornaroli (Designer),Alberto Rosselli Saporiti (Designer),Gio Ponti (Designer),Studio PFR ( Ponti Fornaroli Rosselli ) (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 63 in (160.02 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1940-1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1622226551802
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.
- 20th Century Italian Walnut Writing Table, Desk Set with a Chair by Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA vintage Mid-Century modern Italian freestanding writing table, desk set with two drawers and a stripped chair made of hand crafted Walnut, in good condition. The large table is com...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- 20th Century Italian Small Mahogany Schirolli Mantova Writing Table by Gio PontiBy Schirolli, Gio PontiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA vintage Mid-Century modern Italian writing table made of hand carved Mahogany, designed by Gio Ponti and produced by Schirolli Mantova in good cond...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsLaminate, Formica, Mahogany
- 20th Century Italian Rosewood Writing Desk by Osvaldo Borsani & Paolo BuffaBy Paolo Buffa, Osvaldo BorsaniLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA dark-brown, vintage Mid-Century Modern Italian half-round writing desk with a clear glass top, made of hand crafted polished Rosewood, designed ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Italian Vintage Walnut Writing Desk & Armchair by Amleto SartoriBy Amleto SartoriLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA vintage Mid-Century modern Italian office set of a writing desk and an armchair made of hand crafted polished Walnut, designed by Amleto Sartori in good condition. The floating rec...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- 20th Century Italian Mahogany Writing Table - Vintage Desk by Vittorio DassiBy Vittorio DassiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA freestanding, half rounded vintage Mid-Century modern Italian writing table made of hand crafted shellac polished, party veneered Mahogany and Rosewood, designed by Vittorio Dassi ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Maplewood Writing Table - Vintage Ebony DeskLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA freestanding, vintage Mid-Century modern Italian writing table made of hand crafted polished, partly veneered Maplewood with a large black Ebony table top, in good condition. Each ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Desk by Gio Ponti and Alberto Rosselli, Rima Padova, Italy, circa 1955By Gio Ponti, Alberto Rosselli SaporitiLocated in Berlin, DEDesk by Gio Ponti & Alberto Rosselli, Rima Padova, Italy, circa 1955 Originally designed for the Pirelli Tower in Milano. In 1950, Alberto Pirelli, president and owner of the giant...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- 20th Century Lacquered and Painted Wood Italian Writing Desk, 1930Located in Vicoforte, PiedmontItalian writing desk from the mid-20th century. Furniture in carved, lacquered and gilded wood of beautiful lines and pleasant furnishings. Writing desk finished from the center equi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWood
- 20th Century Lacquered Wood Italian Louis XVI Style Writing Desk, 1950Located in Vicoforte, PiedmontLarge Italian writing desk from the mid-20th century. Furniture in carved and lacquered wood in Louis XVI style of beautiful lines and pleas...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Louis XVI Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWood
- 20th Century Inlaid Wood Gold Bronze Italian Napoleon III Style Writing DeskLocated in Vicoforte, PiedmontItalian writing desk from 20th century. Napoleon III style furniture inlaid and veneered in walnut, mahogany, maple and fruitwood enriched...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Napoleon III Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Italian Gio Ponti Mahogany Table DeskBy Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYItalian 1930s mahogany table desk with geometric form legs with brass sabot feet and a single drawer with a stretcher (GIO PONTI - for the University of Padua)Category
Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti Writing Desk in Walnut and Brass for the BNL Offices, Italy 1940sBy Gio Ponti, SchirolliLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA rare and collectable walnut desk with brass ferrules designed by Gio Ponti and produced by Schirolli (Mantova - Italy) in the 1940s for the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL - Nation...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
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.