Fontana Arte 1950s Modernist Glass Pen Holder or Stand and Ashtray Desk Set
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Attributed to:Max Ingrand (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.79 in (2 cm)Width: 9.53 in (24.2 cm)Depth: 6.62 in (16.8 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Glass,Polished
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. Two, pinhead sized, "flea bites" to the ashtray. Minor scratches. This can all be polished out, if requested, but we prefer to leave the patina to show the age of the piece. Minor scratches to the bases.
- Seller Location:Landau an der Isar, DE
- Reference Number:Seller: ARTEDESKSET1stDibs: LU1835310126293
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Ceramic
Late 20th Century Moroccan Aesthetic Movement Models and Miniatures
Enamel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tobacco Accessories
Crystal
Mid-20th Century Tobacco Accessories
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
Crystal
Early 20th Century Desk Sets
Gold
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Tobacco Accessories
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Tobacco Accessories
Wrought Iron
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Books
Glass
More From This Seller
View AllMid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Metal, Gold Plate
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Tobacco Accessories
Brass
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
Metal, Brass
