Midcentury "Diaframma" Sconce by Piero & Monti Fontana Arte, Italy, circa 1968
About the Item
- Creator:Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti (Designer),Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)Depth: 12 in (30.48 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1968
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. The white paint has aged, Chrome is in great condition, looks a bit opaque but that is just in the photos.
- Seller Location:Merida, MX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2602120212362
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Merida, Mexico
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount Attributed to Fontana Arte, Italy circa 1950By Fontana ArteLocated in Merida, YucatanMid-Century Modern square flush mount, manufactured by Fontana Arte in lacquered metal and pressed glass. The lamp consists of 3 pieces of glass screwed i...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass
- TwoMid-Century "1940" Modern Flush Mounts by Fontana Arte, Italy, circa 1950By StilnovoLocated in Merida, YucatanMid Century Modern square flush mounts, manufactured by Fontana Arte in lacquered metal, brass and pressed glass. Pictured in Fontana Arte catalogues as model "1940" There are 3 ava...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Space Age Sconce by Carlo Nason for Mazzega, Murano, Italy, circa 1968By Mazzega, Carlo NasonLocated in Merida, YucatanSpace Age sconce or flush mount made in clear and blue Murano glass and a chromed metal body , manufactured in the island of Murano in Italy, circa 1970 Design attributed to Carlo N...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsChrome
- Mid-Century Modern Italian "Star" Sconces, ITSO Gio Ponti, circa 1950By Gio Ponti, Fontana ArteLocated in Merida, YucatanMid-Century Modern 5-light sconces in the style of Gio Ponti for Fontana Arte. Manufactured in brass and cut clear and light blue glass. These are made in cut crystal and brass. Th...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass
- Multifaceted Sconce or Flush Mount, made in Italy circa 1960By Fontana Arte, StilnovoLocated in Merida, YucatanSpace age sconce or flush mount, manufactured in italy circa 1960. the light consists of a golden-chromed frame and 2 crystal lenses, the outer one is faceted and the inner lense is ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Flush Mount
MaterialsCrystal
- Mid-Century Modern Italian "Solar System" Sconces, ITSO Gio Ponti, circa 1950By Gio Ponti, Fontana ArteLocated in Merida, YucatanMid-Century Modern 5-light sconces in the style of Gio Ponti For Fontana Arte. Manufactured in Brass and cut clear and light blue glass. The "Sun" and the cups next to the bulbs hav...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass
- Rare Diaframma Sconces by G. Piero & A. Monti for Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CARare 'Diaframma' Sconces by: G. Piero & A. Monti for Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1960's. Butterfly sconces consisting of a chrome outer shell and clea...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsChrome
- Fontana Arte "Lampira" Sconces by Gianemilio Piero and Anna MontiBy Fontana Arte, Gianemilio Piero and Anna MontiLocated in Brooklyn, NYFontana Arte sconces "Lampira" ( Ladybug) Designed by Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti and manufactured in Italy in 1970s. Stamped "Fontana Arte" on the back. Shades can be open at di...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
- "Lampira" Sconces for Fontana Arte by Gianemilio Piero and Anna MontiBy Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti, Fontana ArteLocated in Brooklyn, NYFontana Arte sconces "Lampira" ( Ladybug) Designed by Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti and manufactured in Italy in 1970s. Stamped "Fontana Arte" on the back. Shades can be open at di...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
- "Lampira" Sconce by Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Gianemilio Piero and Anna MontiLocated in Brooklyn, NYFontana Arte sconce "Lampira" ( Ladybug) Designed by Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti and manufactured in Italy in 1970s. Stamped "Fontana Arte" on the back. Shades can be open at dif...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
- Lampira Sconces by Fontana ArteBy Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti, Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CAOriginal Italian vintage wall lamp model "Lampira", with ABC lid and white opaline glass shade designed by Gianemilio, Piero and Anna Monti ...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
- Pair of grey Lampira wall lamps by G.P.A. Monti for Fontana Arte, 1970sBy G.P.A. Monti, Gianemilio Piero and Anna Monti, Fontana ArteLocated in Rotterdam, NLPair of red Lampira wall lamps designed by Gian Emilio, Piero and Anna Monti for Fontana Arte in the early 1970s. The lamps are made of ABS and opaline glass. Two plastic 'screens' ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsGlass, Plastic