Joe Colombo Vases
He died tragically young, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. But through the 1960s, Joe Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, the creations of Joe Colombo have the power to surprise.
Cesare “Joe” Colombo was born in Milan, the son of an electrical-components manufacturer. He was a creative child — he loved to build huge structures from Meccano pieces — and in college he studied painting and sculpture before switching to architecture.
In the early 1950s, Colombo made and exhibited paintings and sculptures as part of an art movement that responded to the new Nuclear Age, and futuristic thinking would inform his entire career. He took up design not long after his father fell ill in 1958, and he and his brother, Gianni, were called upon to run the family company.
Colombo expanded the business to include the making of plastics — a primary material in almost all his later designs. One of his first, made in collaboration with his brother, was the Acrilica table lamp (1962), composed of a wave-shaped piece of clear acrylic resin that diffused light cast by a bulb concealed in the lamp’s metal base. A year later, Colombo produced his best-known furniture design, the Elda armchair (1963): a modernist wingback chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather pads.
Portability and adaptability were keynotes of many Colombo designs, made for a more mobile society in which people would take their living environments with them. One of his most striking pieces is the Tube chair (1969). It comprises four foam-padded plastic cylinders that fit inside one another. The components, which are held together by metal clips, can be configured in a variety of seating shapes (his Additional Living System seating is similarly versatile).
Vintage Tube chairs generally sell for about $9,000 in good condition; Elda chairs for about $7,000. A small Colombo design such as the plastic Boby trolley — an office organizer on wheels, designed in 1970 — is priced in the range of $700.
As Colombo intended, his designs are best suited to a modern decor. If your tastes run to sleek, glossy Space Age looks, the work of Joe Colombo offers you a myriad of choices.
Find vintage Joe Colombo lamps, seating and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Vases
Glass
1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Vases
Glass
1970s Italian Post-Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Vases
Steel
Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Vases
Art Glass, Murano Glass, Murrine
1990s American Post-Modern Joe Colombo Vases
Stainless Steel
20th Century Scandinavian Joe Colombo Vases
Art Glass
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Vases
Ceramic
20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Joe Colombo Vases
1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Vases
Glass
1920s French Vintage Joe Colombo Vases
Mercury Glass
Late 19th Century French Victorian Antique Joe Colombo Vases
Blown Glass
Late 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Vases
Ceramic
1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Vases
Ceramic
2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Vases
Glass
Joe Colombo vases for sale on 1stDibs.
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- What is Joe Colombo famous for?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertJanuary 19, 2025Joe Colombo is famous for his career as a designer. He died young, at 41 in 1971, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. Through the 1960s, Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, his creations have the power to surprise. Shop a selection of Joe Colombo furniture on 1stDibs.