Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
The work of celebrated mid-century Italian lighting designer and entrepreneur Angelo Gaetano Sciolari became widely popular in the United States during the postwar years and strongly influenced lighting makers around the world. The sculptural forms and striking geometric details of his vintage floor lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures fit seamlessly into the mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency interiors of the day.
Sciolari formally studied architecture but also pursued filmmaking for a short period. When his father passed away in 1949, Sciolari took the reins at his family's company, Sciolari Lighting, which had been in business in Rome since 1892. The manufacturer expanded considerably under Gaetano’s leadership. For one, pioneering American lighting company Lightolier, in New York City, began to import the Italian brand’s lighting for the U.S. market, and Lightolier’s star designer, Gerald Thurston, was significantly influenced by Gaetano’s work. In the 1970s, Americans looking to add provocative fixtures created by Gaetano Sciolari to their living rooms could find them in Lightolier catalogs.
Sciolari initially crafted lamps and sconces that bore the hallmarks of traditional Italian design. But during the 1950s, when he would become the in-house designer for legendary Milan lighting manufacturer Stilnovo — one of the leaders of Italian postwar design — he created revolutionary fixtures that endured as his best-known work.
Sciolari drew on a range of influences — enthusiasts see the imprint of Art Deco, brutalism and more in his lighting — and designed futuristic Space Age chandeliers, ceiling lamps and pendants for Stilnovo as well as Stilkronen and S.A. Boulanger that defied the conventions of the time. A dizzying array of materials and finishes characterizes the designer’s work, while geometry is pronounced in each sculptural fixture — there are blown opal glass spheres, polished chrome tubes and brass square bulb holders. These combinations were critical to the development of dazzling lighting that proves eye-catching in any space decades later.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Angelo Gaetano Sciolari lighting today.
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Chrome
1970s Korean Industrial Vintage Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Aluminum, Brass
Mid-20th Century English Industrial Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Nickel
Mid-20th Century European Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass
1970s German Industrial Vintage Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Steel, Iron
Late 19th Century European Gothic Revival Antique Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass, Bronze, Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century Moroccan Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Metal
1970s Japanese Industrial Vintage Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass, Iron
1970s German Industrial Vintage Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass, Copper
Late 20th Century German Industrial Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Aluminum, Steel
1970s German Industrial Vintage Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Aluminum
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Brass, Chrome
Late 20th Century Korean Industrial Gaetano Sciolari More Furniture and Collectibles
Aluminum, Brass
