Fontana Arte Murano Glass and Brass Italian Chandelier, Pietro Chiesa, 1940s

Superb Italian chandelier in white reticello Murano glass and brass, this rare piece was designed in the style of Venini in Italy in the 1940s. This finely crafted chandelier is fully made in Murano glass. The central shade is made in "Reticello" art glass which is at its best when lit. The two lateral arms are in hand-blown glass and connect to a central column in brass that has been kept with its natural patina, which gave the metal a fantastic bronzed tone, amplifying it's charm and historical value. An unique and incredibly elegant piece that will perfectly complement a Mid-Century living room or an Art Deco entryway...

Amazing art deco bronzed metal and brass floor lamp. This wonderful item was produced in Italy during the 1940s and it is attributed to Pietro Chiesa. This refined floor lamp in b...

Fabulous pair of sconces in beveled glass and brass with an internal back mirror. These gorgeous wall lamps were designed in Italy during the 1940s and are attributed to Fontana Arte...

Amazing midcentury carved crystal glass ashtray. This wonderful item was designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in Italy during 1960s. This piece is unique as it has two carved sides and two straight ones and tone of the crystal, that is a very elegant water marine. A perfect bowl to complete a midcentury-style living room or entrance. Measures (cms): width - 20 depth - 20 height - 2 Pietro Chiesa (1892-1948) was an Italian designer who specialised in modernist and Art Deco designs. Chiesa was one of the founding members of FontanaArte which was established in 1932, and as its artistic director, he designed hundreds of items ranging from furniture to objets d’art. A member of the Swiss Ticino family of artists, Chiesa is best known for his glass furnishing pieces, such as the Fontana table. Fontana Arte (established in 1933) was founded by Luigi Fontana, Gio Ponti, and Pietro Chiesa as a premier producer and marketer of furniture, lighting, and furnishing accessories, and distignuished itself applying the highest standards of glass craftsmanship and techniques. Throughout Fontana Arte’s history, its lamps and furniture have been highly sought after due to their superior glass craftsmanship and innovative design. Saint-Gobain Invests in Luigi Fontanta e Compagni The origins of Fontana Arte go back to 1881, when Luigi Fontana established Luigi Fontana e Compagni to produce and market sheet glass for the construction industry. Luigi’s success as an entrepreneur in the growing Italian construction sector attracted the attention of the French glass-making company Saint-Gobain, which, in 1910, took a majority stake in the ownership of Luigi Fontana e Compagni transforming it into a “Società Anonima” still under the direction of Luigi Fontana. By the mid-1920s, Fontana e Compagni’s capabilities included the creation of artistic stained glass that was mostly used in functional and decorative settings of churches and cathedrals. Gio Ponti Becomes Fontana e Compagni’s Artistic Director In just a few years, the production of such artistic stained-glass products had become of such importance that a different division within the Fontana e Compagni was created to further its development. In 1930, Luigi Fontana met the successful young Milanese architect Gio Ponti, who was then the art director of Richard-Ginori pottery company, and they formed a partnership, under the name of Luigi Fontana SA, for the production of light fixtures, furniture, and furnishing objects. During this initial period, Gio Ponti designed from Fontana Arte the now-iconic 0024 Pendant light (1931) and the Bilia Table Lamp (1931). Pietro Chiesa, Gio Ponti, and Luigi Fontana Found Fontana Arte In 1932, Gio Ponti approached Pietro Chiesa to join him and Luigi Fontana and to become Luigi Fontana SA’s artistic director. In 1933, Pietro Chiesa merged his studio, the Bottega di Pietro Chiesa, with Fontana SA, and together Luigi Fontana, Gio Ponti, and Chiesa founded Fontana Arte. During Chiesa’s tenure as artistic director, Fontana Arte’s production became rich and varied. It included furniture, tables, mirrors, sculptures, and stained glass, but it was certainly in the lighting sector where Fontana Arte excelled by creating lamps and lights with the highest standards in glass craftsmanship and modern designs. From this period came the Luminator floor lamp, the Cartoccio glass vase, and the Fontana Arte table made out of a single band of bent clear glass, (all designed by Pietro Chiesa, in 1932); and the Naska lamp...

Incredible midcentury Venetian Murano white glass chandelier with an astonishing golden wrought iron frame. This outstanding piece was designed in Italy during the 1940s. This chandelier is incredible because of the accuracy in the decoration of the iron frame and the unique Murano glass body, and it seems to be constrained by the iron structure. The piece is in excellent vintage conditions and the glass is very smooth. An iconic pendant light...

Beautiful Murano glass bubble chandelier with amber glass cage. The glass is hand-blown with an amber shade and was created by Giorgio Seguso in the 1940s in Italy. This Murano gl...

Etched glass three-leaf chandelier after Pietro Chiesa, 1940s. The fixture features delicate pieces of milky hand blown glass elements tethered to a gilt brass structure, each of wh...

Finely hand chiseled glass with hibiscus motifs with brass rim in excellent vintage condition. The disc covering three E 14 light bulbs. This piece is from Fontana Arte designed Attr...

Amazing pendant with finely hand chiseled glass with hibiscus motifs. Elegant brass frame in excellent vintage condition. The disc centered by six E 14 light bulbs, up to 40 watts p...

This midcentury glass and brass chandelier was designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in the 1940s. The Italian Art Deco d...

Italian Pietro Chiesa For Fontana Arte inspired chandelier. This striking large scale Italian modernist chandelier has six lights and is made of brass with a frosted glass bottom pa...

This Mid-Century glass and brass chandelier was designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte in the 1940s. The Italian Art Deco designer Pietro Chiesa was born in Milan in 1892 in a family of artists originally from Ticino, Switzerland. After his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, he completed an apprenticeship at the studio of the furniture designer Giovan Battista Giannotti; having gathered enough security and experience, Chiesa opened his studio in 1921 under the name Bottega di Pietro Chiesa. Known above all for his work as a glassmaker, Chiesa presented his work for the first time in 1925 at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. In 1932 his studio joined Fontana Arte, the legendary Italian manufacture of lighting and glass objects founded by Gio Ponti and Luigi Fontana. Chiesa becomes the company's artistic director, and over the years designs numerous models for Fontana Arte, including lamps, windows, tables, and artistic decorative objects. Among the most noteworthy pieces signed by the designer, we mention the Fontana table (1932), made in a single beam of molded clear glass, the Cartoccio vase (1932), and the Luminator lacquered brass floor lamp...