Italian modern orange plastic shelves by Marcello Siard for Kartell, 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Marcello Siard (Designer),Kartell (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 13.78 in (35 cm)Width: 31.5 in (80 cm)Depth: 12.01 in (30.5 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Fair condition, some signs of aging, scattered scratches and marks. There are small holes on some shelves.
- Seller Location:MIlano, IT
- Reference Number:
Kartell
The Italian design giant Kartell transformed plastic from the stuff of humble household goods into a staple of luxury design in the 1960s. Founded in Milan by Italian chemical engineer Giulio Castelli (1920–2006) and his wife Anna Ferrieri (1918–2006), Kartell began as an industrial design firm, producing useful items like ski racks for automobiles and laboratory equipment designed to replace breakable glass with sturdy plastic. Even as companies like Olivetti and Vespa were making Italian design popular in the 1950s, typewriters and scooters were relatively costly, and Castelli and Ferrieri wanted to provide Italian consumers with affordable, stylish goods.
They launched a housewares division of Kartell in 1953, making lighting fixtures and kitchen tools and accessories from colorful molded plastic. Consumers in the postwar era were initially skeptical of plastic goods, but their affordability and infinite range of styles and hues eventually won devotees. Tupperware parties in the United States made plastic storage containers ubiquitous in postwar homes, and Kartell’s ingenious designs for juicers, dustpans, and dish racks conquered Europe. Kartell designer Gino Colombini was responsible for many of these early products, and his design for the KS 1146 Bucket won the Compasso d’Oro prize in 1955.
Buoyed by its success in the home goods market, Kartell introduced its Habitat division in 1963. Designers Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper created the K1340 (later called the K 4999) children’s chair that year, and families enjoyed their bright colors and light weight, which made them easy for kids to pick up and move. In 1965, Joe Colombo (1924–78) created one of Kartell’s few pieces of non-plastic furniture, the 4801 chair, which sits low to the ground and comprised of just three curved pieces of plywood. (In 2012, Kartell reissued the chair in plastic.) Colombo followed up on the success of the 4801 with the iconic 4867 Universal Chair in 1967, which, like Verner Panton’s S chair, is made from a single piece of plastic. The colorful, stackable injection-molded chair was an instant classic. That same year, Kartell introduced Colombo’s KD27 table lamp. Ferrierei’s cylindrical 4966 Componibili storage module debuted in 1969.
Kartell achieved international recognition for its innovative work in 1972, when a landmark exhibition curated by Emilio Ambasz called “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” opened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. That show introduced American audiences to the work of designers such as Gaetano Pesce; Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis Group; and the firms Archizoom and Superstudio (both firms were among Italy's Radical design groups) — all of whom were using wit, humor and unorthodox materials to create a bracingly original interior aesthetic.
Castelli and Ferrieri sold Kartell to Claudio Luti, their son-in-law, in 1988, and since then, Luti has expanded the company’s roster of designers.
Kartell produced Ron Arad’s Bookworm wall shelf in 1994, and Philippe Starck’s La Marie chair in 1998. More recently, Kartell has collaborated with the Japanese collective Nendo, Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola and glass designer Tokujin Yoshioka, among many others. Kartell classics can be found in museums around the world, including MoMA, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. In 1999, Claudio Luti established the Museo Kartell to tell the company’s story, through key objects from its innovative and colorful history.
Find vintage Kartell tables, seating, table lamps and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Italian modern Red plastic shelves by Marcello Siard for Kartell, 1970sBy Marcello Siard, KartellLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern Red plastic shelves by Marcello Siard for Kartell, 1970s Set of fantastic six shelves with asymmetric profile in bright red plastic. There are two types of measures: o...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian Modern Cream White Plastic Shelves by Marcello Siard for Kartell, 1970sBy Kartell, Marcello SiardLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern cream white plastic shelves by Marcello Siard for Kartell, 1970s. Set of six shelves with asymmetrical profile in plastic in colors ranging from white to cream, as t...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Shelves and Wall Cabinets
MaterialsPlastic
- Gancio coat stand with shelf by Olaf Von Bohr and Marcello Siard, Kartell 1970By Olaf von Bohr, Marcello Siard, KartellLocated in MIlano, ITWall-mounted coat rack Hook model with all-plastic frame in beige color with four hangers and hat rack. This project combines the design of Olaf Von Bohr's coat rack with that of Mar...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian modern Yellow plastic chairs 4875 by Carlo Bartoli for Kartell, 1970sBy Carlo Bartoli, KartellLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern Yellow plastic chairs 4875 by Carlo Bartoli for Kartell, 1970s Set of 4 chairs mod. 4875 in yellow plastic. The backrest and seat...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
- Italian modern plastic 4720/S table mirror by Filippo Panseca for Kartell, 1970sBy KartellLocated in MIlano, ITTable mirror model 4720/S, composed of two parts, a cylindrical plastic base which has slightly yellowed over time and a transparent plexiglass sphere, with the round mirror inside, ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Table Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Plastic, Plexiglass
- Italian modern white plastic coffee tables by Giotto Stoppino for Kartell, 1970sBy Kartell, Giotto StoppinoLocated in MIlano, ITItalian modern white plastic coffee tables by Giotto Stoppino for Kartell, 1970s Pair of coffee tables mod. 4905 round stackables. The struc...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsPlastic
- Room Divider Shelf by Olaf von Bohr for Kartell, Italy, 1970sBy Olaf von BohrLocated in Greding, DELarge room divider shelf in white designed by Olaf von Bohr for Kartell. Discolored in places. Embossed stamp on the bottom.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Shelves
MaterialsPlywood
- Mid-Century White Lacquered Shelves, Italy 1970sLocated in Brussels, BEMid-century white lacquered shelves - Italy 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Shelves
MaterialsWood
- Componibile Shelf by Giulio Polvara for Kartell, 1975By Giulio Polvara, KartellLocated in Barcelona, ESComponibile shelf model 4760-4765 designed in 1975 by Giulio Polvara for Kartell. Include three storage cubes model 4770 designed by Centrokappa in 1975. Plastic elements that can be...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Shelves
MaterialsPlastic
- Custom U.T.Kartell Modular Storage / cubbies / bookcase. 70's Plastic SpaceageBy KartellLocated in Buffalo, NYCustom U. T. Kartell Modular Storage / cubbies / bookcase/shelving. 1970's Plastic Spaceage Design ! nOT sure if this was ever produced?? Possibly cus...Category
Vintage 1970s American Space Age Shelves
MaterialsPlastic, Wood
- 1970s Anna Castelli Kartell Yellow 5-Tier Stackable Componibili Pop Art ShelvingBy Anna Castelli Ferrieri, KartellLocated in Hyattsville, MD1970s original production Componibili storage units in bright primary yellow by Anna Castelli for Kartell, Beylerian, ltd. 5-tier stack with sliding doors on casters. Includes: (2)...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsPlastic
- Set of 5 Kartell Inspired White Floating Molded Acrylic Wall ShelvesBy KartellLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of 5 molded, mid century, plastic floating wall shelves, 2 small (1 bright white, 1 off white) 17.75 x 12.125 x 13.75", 2 medium (off white) ...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsPlastic