Gio Ponti Set of six Superleggera Chairs for Cassina, Italy, 1957
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer),Figli di Amadeo Cassina (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.68 in (83 cm)Width: 16.15 in (41 cm)Depth: 17.72 in (45 cm)Seat Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Late 1950s
- Condition:Reupholstered. Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Chiavari, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6764238114682
Gio Ponti
An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre.
In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
Ponti's signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.)
Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph, which was written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of vintage Gio Ponti desks, dining chairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Chiavari, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Gio Ponti Set of Twelve Superleggera Chairs for Cassina, Italy, 1957By Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA set of twelve Superleggera chairs, meticulously restored in aniline black paint.. The original woven straw seats have been replaced with new meticulously crafted seats, maintaining...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Ash
- Gio Ponti set of twelve Leggera chairs with rope seat, Cassina, Italy, 1951By Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaSet of 12 ash wood chairs with hand-knotted rope seats, designed by Gio Ponti as model 646 Leggera in 1951 and manufactured by Figli di Amedeo Cassina during the late 1950s. Concept...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
- Gio Ponti set of twelve Leggera chairs with hand-woven rattan cane, Italy 1951By Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaSet of 12 black-stained ash wood chairs with hand-woven rattan cane, designed by Gio Ponti, model 646 Leggera, in 1951 and manufactured by Figli di Amedeo Cassina during the late 195...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
- Gio Ponti Model 811 armchair made of walnut and rubber, Cassina, Italy, 1957By Gio Ponti, Figli di Amadeo CassinaLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA rare armchair Model 811, with a walnut structure and rubber bands, designed by Gio Ponti and produced in Italy by Cassina in 1957. There are artifacts from past decades that, due ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsRubber, Walnut
- GIo Ponti "grissinato" bar cabinet made of oak, Italy, 1940sBy Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaBar cabinet with shelves and doors in oak wood, Italian craftsmanship from the 1940s, designed by Gio Ponti. This oak furniture, a perfect ad...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti occasional table with drawers for BNL offices, Genoa, Italy, 1950sBy Gio PontiLocated in Chiavari, LiguriaA rare office furniture piece in wood, linoleum, and brass with compact dimensions, an original design by Gio Ponti for the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), Italian production from ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Gio Ponti Superleggera chairs Cassina Italy 1957By Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantRare set of 6 original Superleggera (super light) chairs designed by Gio Ponti and manufactured by Cassina in Italy in 1957. The 699 Superleggera, which has been a star in Cassina's ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
- Modernist Vintage Pair Duo Superleggera Chair by Gio Ponti Cassina 1957 ItalyBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Vienna, ATModernist Vintage authentic pair or duo Superleggera Dining Chairs or Chairs from black lacquered wood and light brown cane mesh designed 1957 by Gio Ponti ...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Gio Ponti for Cassina Pair of "Superleggera" Black Chairs, Italy 1960sBy Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Naples, ITSuperleggera chair with black-stained beechwood frame, triangular-section legs, and hand-woven straw seat. Designed by Gio Ponti in 1951 and produced by Cassina.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
- Gio Ponti for Cassina set of four Leggera dining chairs, Italy 1950sBy Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Milan, ITSet of four 1st edition Ash and upholstery Gio Ponti Model 646/3 LEGGERA dining chairs for Cassina. Italy 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Ash
- Set d 6 chairs Superleggera, Gio Ponti, CassinaBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, LombardiaThis incredible set of 6 Superleggera chairs designed by Gio Ponti for Cassina in 1950 embodies the elegance and lightness of modern aesthetics. These iconic chairs feature clean, sl...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
- Early Set of Four Superleggera Chairs by Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAHistorical set of four Superleggera chairs by Gio Ponti with original caning and black lacquered wood frame. Made in Italy circa 1957.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Wood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
Billy Cotton Layers His Interiors with Lived-In Comfort
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.