Italian home furnishings are having their place in the sun once more, and for good reason. Amid today s Daedalian complexity, the art world and collectors are becoming reinspired by the playful simplicity of the works of the great maestri of Italian mid-century modern art and furnishings.
Many recent articles in trendy publications are heralding the bold sophistication of Italian mid-century interior design pieces, as profiled in Elle Decor’s ‘The Biggest Furniture Trends to Expect in 2020’ by Monique Valeris. The author asserts that furniture with modern Italian detailing is a trend to watch out for.
This reawakening to modern Italian furniture is being reflected in international auction houses where pieces in this style have tripled in value in the last decade. In 2018 at Christie’s auction house in London, Gio Ponti’s Arlecchino coffee table (Milan, circa 1956) fetched £162,500. Phillips in London in association with Cambi had a roaring success with its 2019 Casa di Fantasia auction of noted Gio Ponti and Casa Lucano furnishings that garnered over $2 million USD, with a robust profit margin which exceeded presale estimates.
The reality is that the quality, craftsmanship, and streamlined elegance of Italian furniture design are timeless.
Mediator Between the Past and the Future
“Equipped with a tremendous sensory capacity, he absorbed the Zeitgeist and reinvented himself practically every decade - but without denying the past.” - Graziella Roccella from her book Gio Ponti, Master of Lightness.
Every definitive time period or movement in art has the potential for a revival, or several for that matter. With the rising interest in mid-century architecture, art, and furnishings, one of the most prolific artisans who mastered all of these artistic disciplines during a career that spanned six decades deserves particular attention.
Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (1891 - 1979) is considered by many to be the epitome of post-war Italy’s design confidence and casual elegance. This ingenious workaholic never went anywhere without paper and pencil. At the forefront of Italian home furnishings is a man who conquered architecture, ceramics, industrial design, painting, and furniture design while intermingling streamlined functionalism with playful whimsicalness.
Ponti’s work is among the most sought-after items for collectors in today’s booming international market for rare classic furnishings. His carefree, colourful, and elegant furnishings are attracting twenty-first-century collectors with its blend of neoclassical and mid-century modernist style sensibilities.
Renaissance Man
Gio Ponti’s main point of interest was the home. He had a keen interest in inclusive design with his innovative and detailed consideration of interior and exterior spaces. While designing his creations, Ponti would often collaborate with other renown artisans and craftspeople to produce magnificent works that would become cornerstones of Italian design history.
Ponti began his career overseeing porcelain designs for the Richard-Ginori company in the 1920s. He went on to design interiors and then architectural designs which eventually evolved into an admiration for furniture design. In 1928, he founded Domus magazine, which is still in publication today.
His most famous interior works featured in a recent auction was his furnishings from the legendary Casa Lucano apartment located in Milan's Fiera district. Completed in 1951, Ponti was commissioned to direct the interior design of this grand space. He famously collaborated with other artists on this project to create special one-off pieces which went quickly during auction, with 100% of the lots meeting or exceeding their estimates.
The famous architect and designer India Mahdavi owns several of Ponti’s pieces which is a demonstration of the art world’s deeply held appreciation of his work.
Ponti’s works are held at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, amongst several other important museums and galleries. His design works have been seen in villas, offices, cruise ships, hotels, museums, and places of worship.
With a major retrospective of Gio Ponti’s work at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2018 - 2019, Rome’s MAXXI’s celebration of Gio Ponti’s work 'Loving Architecture,’ and Christie’s ‘Thinking Italian Design’ auction in 2019, the time is now to become fully immersed in this revival in Italian home furnishings.
Notable Ponti Pieces
It is a daunting task to select just a handful of distinguished pieces from Ponti’s illustrious career. But for the sake of this piece and to illustrate some of his most sought-after furniture pieces, we provide you with this short guide to some of Ponti’s notable works found at recent auctions.
Ceramics
Gio Ponti’s ‘Vaso Della Donne Delle Architetture’, (An Important and Monumental Vase), 1923 - 1930 was created during his time at Richard-Ginori where he led the artistic direction of the company. This vase is considered a masterpiece among his ceramic designs with its blend of Art Deco and Chinese influences. It was purchased from Christie’s in New York for $319,500 USD in 2016, which was six times its presell estimate.
Chairs
Keep an eye out for Ponti’s Leggera (1952) and Superleggera (1957) chairs with vaulted backrest made for the Cassina workshops. Ponti designed the framework of this chair to be slimmer and pointier, making it light enough for a child to lift it with one finger as famously advertised in the late 1950s. Not only is this chair lightweight but also incredibly durable. This woven-seat style chair became enormously popular because of its simple elegance and form.
Tables
Ponti created his ‘Important and Rare Low Table’ out of Rosso Toscano marble, brass and walnut for the Contini Bonacossi residence, Quadreria Moderna, Villa Vittoria in Florence in 1927. The Contini Bonacossi family commissioned this exquisite table from Ponti during a major renovation of their residence, supervised by the artist himself. This rare piece sold at Phillips in London for £261,000 in 2018.
Other decorative elements
Ponti collaborated with illustrator Edina Altara in 1951 to create a limited number of chests of drawers. The chests are a sublime example of Ponti’s fascination with the intersection of neoclassicism and modernity. The bottom of the chests features the iconic 1950s pegleg design. Recently, a Ponti chest of drawers sold at Phillips in London for £337,500, which was five times its presell estimate.
Gio Ponti furniture for sale coming up for international auction are a pair of wingback armchairs designed in 1956 for the Hotel Royal, Naples. A similar pair of armchairs by Ponti sold for £118,750 on 6 March 2019 at Christie’s in London.
Icons of Italian Design
“Ponti’s versatile, inspirational career was fundamental to the establishment of the Italian identity in modern architecture and design.” - Simon Andrews, International Specialist at Christie’s.
Gio Ponti was not only an important figure in design and architecture but he was also a teacher, writer and editor who supported artistic talent and championed the work of other Italian designers.
In 1964, Ponti famously exhibited the work of a generation of design greats - Ettore Sottsass, Bruno Munari, Achille Castiglioni, Nanda Vigo, Enzo Mari, Lucio Fontana and Michelangelo Pistoletto - at the Ideal Standard showroom in Milan.
Achille Castiglioni was one of the greatest furniture designers featured in Ponti’s 1964 exhibition. Castiglioni was fascinated by seemingly mundane everyday pieces and he would recreate them through his artist’s lens. Castiglioni’s most enduring work is The Arco lamp which is one of the most recreated lamp designs to this day.
Ettore Sottsass was also a multidisciplinary arts juggernaut. Sottsass was an architect and designer who created exceptional furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home objects and designs for office machines, as well as many buildings and interiors. He really came to the fore in the 1980s as the founder of the Memphis Group of designers who used bold shapes, colours, and flamboyant energy to epitomize the time. Some of his notable furniture pieces include the Superbox cabinet (1966), Nefertiti writing desk (1968-1969), and the Mandarin chair for Knoll (1986).
You can feel the richness of Italian history in the works of these great interior design masters. The exuberant Italian character and personality are proudly displayed in their work.
You will find other notable Italian designs at our auction house in Amsterdam.
Legacy
Gio Ponti’s indelible legacy lives on in his artistic work, his structures, his writings, and in his vast influence and support of other Italian designers. He is considered by many to be the father of modern Italian design.
Leading Italian furniture brand Molteni&C has faithfully reproduced some of Ponti’s furniture pieces in the company’s limited-edition Heritage Collection which exemplifies his legacy.
After two years of renovations, the Denver Art Museum has reopened the Ponti building which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021. This is Ponti’s only completed building in North America. The reopening of this renowned wing will incorporate an exhibition of Ponti’s designs for future generations to appreciate.
At Bidum Auction in Amsterdam, we are always on the lookout for timeless pieces with appreciable value for our discerning buyers. We scour the global market with a sharp eye for exceptional design and functionality to bring you the best the world has to offer. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about any piece that has piqued your interest at auction.