Aldebaran Glass Fruit Bowl, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano Collection
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 6.7 in (17 cm)Diameter: 11.42 in (29 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:1-2 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:La Morra, IT
- Reference Number:
Ettore Sottsass
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
Memphis Milano
To many people, postmodern design is synonymous with the Memphis Group. This Italian collaborative created the most radical and attention-getting designs of the period, upending most of the accepted standards of how furniture should look. Today, the Memphis Milano brand, which is managed by Alberto Bianchi Albrici, still produces designs created by the group between 1981 and 1988.
The Memphis story begins in 1980, when Ettore Sottsass, then a beacon of Italian postmodernism, tapped a coterie of younger designers to develop a collection for the Milan Furniture Fair the next year, determined that all the new furniture they were then seeing was boring. Their mission: Boldly reject the stark minimalism of the 1970s and shatter the rules of form and function. (Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, designed in 1970, embodied many of what would become the collective’s postmodern ideals.)
The group decided to design, produce and market their own collection, one that wouldn’t be restricted by concerns like functionality and so-called good taste. Its debut, at Milan’s 1981 Salone del Mobile, drew thousands of viewers and caused a major stir in design circles.
So as a record of Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile” played on repeat, they took their name from the song, devised their marketing strategy and plotted the postmodern look that would come to define the decade of excess — primary colors, blown-up proportions, playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art. A high-low mix of materials also helped define Memphis, as evidenced by Javier Mariscal’s pastel serving trays, which feature laminate veneer — a material previously used only in kitchens — as well as Shiro Kuramata’s Nara and Kyoto tables made from colored glass-infused terrazzo.
An image of Sottsass posing with his collaborators in a conversation pit shaped like a boxing ring appeared in magazines all over the world, and Karl Lagerfield furnished his Monte Carlo penthouse entirely in Memphis furniture. Meanwhile, members like Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Kuramata, Paola Navone, Peter Shire, George Sowden, Sottsass and his wife, journalist Barbara Radice, went on to enjoy fruitful careers.
Some people think of the Milan-based collective as the design equivalent to Patrick Nagel’s kitschy screenprints, but for others Memphis represents what made the early 1980s so great: freedom of expression, dizzying patterns and off-the-wall colors.
Eventually, the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990s minimalism, and Memphis fell out of fashion. Sottsass left the group in 1985, and by 1987, it had disbanded. Yet decades later, Memphis is back and can be traced to today’s most exciting designers.
“As someone who was born in the 1980s, Memphis at times feels like the grown-up, artsy version of the toys I used to play with,” says Shaun Kasperbauer, cofounder of the Brooklyn studio Souda. “It feels a little nostalgic, but at the same time it seems like an aesthetic that’s perfectly suited to an internet age — loud, colorful and utilizing forms that are graphic and often a little unexpected.”
Find a collection of Memphis Milano seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: La Morra, Italy
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Sol Glass Fruit Bowl, by Ettore Sottsass from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Group, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis MilanoLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Sol glass fruit bowl was originally designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1982. Signed on the base, for further information please see authenticity info below. Ettore Sottsass was bo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsGlass
- Murmansk Silver Plated Brass Fruit Bowl, by Ettore Sottsass from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Ettore SottsassLocated in La Morra, CuneoMurmansk Fruit Bowl in Brass with plated Silver. The "Murmansk" is a fruit bowl is one of the first designs produced by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis in 1982. The sleek bowl is plated silver over brass, and sitting on six stepped legs...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsBrass, Silver
- Rigel Glass Bowl, by Marco Zanini for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Marco ZaniniLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Rigel Glass Bowl was originally designed by Marco Zanini in 1982. The piece features blue, black, green, red and clear glass with lid and ste...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsGlass
- Broccoli Fruit Bowl, by Marco Zanini from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Marco Zanini, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoCeramic three-level fruit bowl originally designed by Marco Zanini in 1985 for Memphis Milano. The three geometrical shapes in three colors complete the idea of a trilogy. Marco Zan...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsCeramic
- Kariba Fruit Bowl, by Matteo Thun from Memphis MilanoBy Matteo Thun, Memphis Group, Memphis MilanoLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Kariba fruit bowl was originally designed by Matteo Thun in 1982 for Memphis. Born 1952 in Bolzano, Italy. Matteo Thun studies under Oskar Kokoschka at the Salzburg Academy of A...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsPorcelain
- Cauliflower Fruit Bowl, by Nathalie du Pasquier from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Nathalie du Pasquier, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Cauliflower ceramic fruit bowl was originally designed in 1985 for Memphis Milano by the ingenious pattern designer of the Memphis Group, Nathalie du Pasquier. Enthusiastic, expl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsCeramic
- Ettore Sottsass Memphis Egizia Silver Blue Art Glass Bowl, 1990sBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Munich, DEBeautiful and rare find Egizia art glass bowl, designed by Ettore Sottsass. This thick and heavy cobalt blue bowl is decorated with hand silk-screened...Category
1990s Italian Modern Glass
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Astimelusa Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoAstimelusa by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano vetri collection in 1986.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Glass
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Art Glass Bowl by F. Zemek for Mstisov Glassworks, Rhapsody Collection, 1950sBy Frantisek ZemekLocated in Praha, CZGorgeous midcentury colored art glass bowl designed by Frantisek Zemek and produced by Mstisov Glassworks, Czechoslovakia in 1950s. The piece is from the Rhapsody collection.Category
Vintage 1950s Czech Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsArt Glass
- Postmodern Salad Bowl "La Bella Tavola" by Ettore Sottsass for Alessi, 1993By Alighiero Boetti 1, Ettore Sottsass, AlessiLocated in Bresso, LombardyMade in Italy, 1993. This bowl was designed by Ettore Sottsass for Alessi. The colorful pattern is also designed by Alighiero Boetti. It is in perfect original condition. Measures:...Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Serving Bowls
MaterialsCeramic
- Wood Fruit Bowl, Marítima, Brazilian Contemporary by LattoogBy LattoogLocated in Sao Paolo, BRLike a leaf: light and soft. That's how we thought about this piece: Organic like the fruits it contains. Like a fluid - in constant motion. That's how w...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsWood, Plywood
- Amber Glass Bowl by Rudolf Schrotter for Rudolfova Hut Glassworks, 1940sBy Rudolfova HutLocated in Praha, CZVintage amber glass bowl, author Rudolf Schrötter, manufacturer Rudolfova Hut Glassworks, Czechoslovakia in the 1940s.Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Mid-Century Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsGlass