'Pirellone' Direction Table by Gio Ponti and Alberto Roselli for Rima Padova
View Similar Items
'Pirellone' Direction Table by Gio Ponti and Alberto Roselli for Rima Padova
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 156.3 in (397 cm)Depth: 47.25 in (120 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Piacenza, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1031631661782
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.
- Set of Six "Leggera" Chairs by Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Piacenza, ItalyExtraordinary set of six original "Leggera" chairs designed by Gio Ponti. Iconic chair in early edition, newly reupholstered in green blue cotton. Manufactured by Cassina, model 64...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
$7,445 Sale Price / set20% Off - Midcentury Fontana Arte chandelier by Gio Ponti, Italy 1940sBy Fontana Arte, Gio PontiLocated in Piacenza, ItalyStunning chandelier designed by Gio Ponti for Fontana Arte This suspension lamp, manufactured by Fontana Arte, features a transparent glass disc with metal and brass details Origin...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Filicudi Dining Table by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta, Italy, 1990By Ettore SottsassLocated in Piacenza, ItalyStylish Filicudi dining table with wooden base and silkscreened melamine top designed by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta Italy in 1992.Category
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsLaminate, Wood
$8,321 Sale Price20% Off - Midcentury brass and glass wall mirror in the style of Gio Ponti, Italy 1950By Gio PontiLocated in Piacenza, ItalyElegant Italian brass wall mirror with wave decoration in the upper part of the frame. Original brass patina. Italy 1950.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Midcentury italian brass wall mirror in the style of Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Piacenza, ItalyMidcentury Italian wall mirror, elegant golden brass frame with amazing shape and beautiful vintage patina. The item is in perfect condition with original mirror. Italy, 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Midcentury italian brass wall mirror in the style of Gio Ponti, ItalyBy Gio PontiLocated in Piacenza, ItalyMidcentury Italian wall mirror, elegant golden brass frame with amazing shape and beautiful vintage patina. Rare large size. The item is in perfect condition with original mirror, e...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti Large Walnut Diamond Table from San Francesco Fopponino Milan, 1961By Gio PontiLocated in Rome, ITImportant and impressive Gio Ponti big conference dining table 1961-1964 big diamond dining table from the Church San Francesco al Fopponino Via Paolo G...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass, Iron
- Dining 110" Table in Ash Wood Molteni&C by Gio Ponti- D.859.1A - made in ItalyBy Gio Ponti, Molteni & CLocated in New York, NYPart of the Molteni&C Heritage collection, this dining or conference table is a re-make of the D.859.1 designed initially in 1958 by iconic designer Gio Ponti. In 1958 Gio Ponti was ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsAsh
- Desk by Gio Ponti and Alberto Rosselli, Rima Padova, Italy, circa 1955By Alberto Rosselli Saporiti, Gio PontiLocated 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
- Desk by Gio Ponti & Alberto Rosselli, Rima Padova, Italy, circa 1955By Gio PontiLocated in Berlin, DEDesk by Gio Ponti & Alberto Rosselli, Rima Padova, Italy, circa 1955 Designed for the Pirelli Tower in Milano.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Mid Century Dining Table by Robsjohn Gibbings for WiddicombBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in New York, NYIconic Mid Century dining table designed by Robsjohn Gibbings for Widdicomb. This example is in very good, original condition, showing only light wear consistent with age. Specifically, an inconsequential veneer flaw at the corner, and light cosmetic wear - please see images. The table opens to accept a large ( 20 in W ) leaf ) extending the width from 72 to 92 inches. This listing is for the dining table only.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsAsh
- Large Table by Georges Nelson for Herman Miller, 1950sBy Herman Miller, George NelsonLocated in Lasne, BEWooden table with metal legs by George Nelson. Numbered on the leg. Wear due to time and age of the table.Category
Vintage 1950s Central American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal
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.