Gio Ponti's ship's side table for the liner Bianca Mano, published
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Diameter: 23.63 in (60 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Polished, In good condition show slight wear due to their age. Metal with scratches.
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4911237861582
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Pair of Gio ponti armchairs for Cassina, certificateBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITEnter a world where the essence of 1940s Italian design takes center stage, embodied by a rare pair of armchairs designed by the legendary Giò Ponti for a naval project. These except...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Silk, Wood
- Italian Vintage Coffee Table Attr. to Gio Ponti, 1950sBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITLow coffee table attributed to Gio Ponti, designed in the 1950s. The low table has a perfectly intact dark glass top. The frame is made of very strong wood. The structure of the tabl...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSmoked Glass, Wood
- Vintage Metal and Fabric Floral Stools for Rima att. Gio PontiBy RIMA, Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITGorgeous vintage stools designed in the 1950s attributed to Gio Ponti, fine Italian manufacture Rima. The structure is entirely made of black painted metal, there are 3 legs for supp...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsSheet Metal
- Gio Ponti briarwood corner cabinet, with certifiedBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, IT"Gio Ponti's masterpiece: A magnificent corner cabinet in walnut burl with bronze accents." This extraordinary corner cabinet, designed by the famous Gio Ponti, is a beautiful eleme...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Corner Cupboards
MaterialsWood
- Gio Ponti Woman Sculpture in Terracotta 'Attr.'By Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITRare terracotta sculpture attributed to the great designer Gio Ponti in the 1950s, fine Italian manufacture. The sculpture is intended to be hung on the wall, as the back is flat. ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Busts
MaterialsTerracotta
- Vintage Reclining Armchair in Wood Attr Giò PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITRare wooden armchair from the 1950s attributed to Giò Ponti The frame is made of wood. Its geometric lines give the seat modernity and essentiality, in fact its essential design is perfect for any type of living room. Thanks to a mechanism underneath, the armchair reclines...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- 1950’s Gio Ponti style side tableBy Gio PontiLocated in Charleston, SCA beautiful side table with elegant details, in the manner of Gio Ponti, and reminiscent of an Arne Vodder design. We are fairly certain the table is American made, definitely circa ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWood
- A Rare Gio Ponti Occasional TableBy Gio PontiLocated in Sag Harbor, NYThis rare of Gio Ponti designed solid walnut table was produced by Schirolli for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in the mid 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Gio Ponti Tiered Occasional Table for Singer and SonsBy Gio PontiLocated in St.Petersburg, FLAn elegant lamp or occasional table designed by Gio Ponti and produced by Singer and Sons. Table features quarter sawn walnut grain and classic Ponti stylized legs. Please note there...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Two-Tiered Occasional Table by Gio Ponti for Singer & Sons.By Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYOccasional Two-Tiered table by Gio Ponti for Singer & Sons, made in Italy, 1950's. Beautifully refinished in a rich medium brown walnut.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMahogany
- Italian Asymmetrical End Tables in the Manner of Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Ava, MOPresenting this lovely unique pair of Birch End Tables in the manner of Gio Ponti. Displaying lovely lines and a seamless visual all the way around including inlaid glass. We acq...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsBirch
- Gio Ponti's rare four crossed wooden spokes coffee tableBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITCOD-2535 Gio Ponti (1991-1979) Rare four crossed wooden spokes coffee table with glass top. 1950s manufacturing. Authentication certificate from the Ponti archive. 105xh39Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGlass
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.