Pair of Stools Mod. “687”, Design Gio Ponti, Cassina Production, Italy, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 21.26 in (54 cm)Width: 18.12 in (46 cm)Depth: 19.3 in (49 cm)Seat Height: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950-1959
- Condition:Minor losses.
- Seller Location:Napoli, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5198232214042
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: Napoli, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Pair of Armchairs, Mod. 803, Design by Gio Ponti, Cassina Production Italy, 1954By Gio PontiLocated in Napoli, ITPair of armchairs, mod. 803, designed by Gio Ponti and produced by Cassina, Italy, 1954. Full restored and newly upholster in cotton velvet rust with rust satin sides. Bibliography...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Armchairs Mod.802, Design Carlo de Carli, Cassina Production, Italy 1954By Carlo De CarliLocated in Napoli, ITThe armchairs are upholstered with precious fabrics, Dedar velvet and 100% silk satin fabric. Bibliography: Giuliana Gramigna, "Repertorio del design italiano per l’arredamento domestico 1950 - 2000"; Ed. Umberto Allemandi...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSatin, Velvet, Wood
- Mirror Mod. "1669", Design Max Ingrand, Production Fontana Arte, Italy, 1960By Max IngrandLocated in Napoli, ITCircular mirror mod. "1669", design Max Ingrand, Production Fontana Arte, Italy 1960. Curved and ground colored crystal with nickel-plated brass edge. Bibliography: Quaderni Fonta...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsCrystal, Brass
- Triptych of Vases, Design Carlo Nason, Production V. Nason & C.By Carlo NasonLocated in Napoli, ITTriptych of vases, design Carlo Nason, production V. Nason & C.. Murano glass, crystal bases. Measures: 1: diameter cm 14 x height 54, 2: diameter cm 14 x height 33, 3: diameter ...Category
1990s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsCrystal
- Vase Art. "6000", Design Ettore Sottsass, Bitossi Production, Italy 1991By Ettore SottsassLocated in Napoli, ITBibliography: "Ettore Sottsass, Tutta la ceramica" Umberto Allemandi & C. edizioni. Signed and numbered vase. Limited edition of 99 pieces.Category
1990s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Lounge Chair Mod. "Toy", Design Rossi Molinari for TOTEM, Italy, 1968By Studio Rossi-MolinariLocated in Napoli, ITLounge chair mod. "Toy" designed by Rossi Molinari for TOTEM, Italy, 1968, structure of lime transparent acrylic plexiglas, loose cushion with white vin...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPlexiglass
- Rare Pair of Gio Ponti Arm Stools 687 for Cassina, Italy, 1953By Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Berlin, DERare pair of Gio Ponti arm stools 687 for Cassina, Italy, 1953 Upholstered in white fabric and in very good condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Gio Ponti Sculptural Stool Model 687By Gio PontiLocated in New York, NYIconic Sculptural Walnut Stool Model 687 by Gio Ponti. Italy, circa 1950'sCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Gio Ponti for Cassina Sculptural Stools in Walnut, Italy, 1950s.By Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Almelo, NLGio Ponti for Cassina Pair of two Sculptural Stools in Walnut, Italy, 1950s. Pair of sculptural stools from the 687 series by Italian design...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Pair of Stools by Gio Ponti for Cassina, Italy, 1953By Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, ESPair of stools model 687 designed in 1953 by Gio Ponti for Cassina, Italy. Walnut wood structure and upholstered with new boucle fabric by Bisson Bruneel.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- Gio Ponti Attribution, Stool, Walnut, Fabric, Italy, 1950sBy Gio PontiLocated in High Point, NCA walnut and beige fabric stool, design attributed to Gio Ponti, Italy, 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
- Sculptural Walnut Stool Model 687 by Gio Ponti , 1953sBy Gio PontiLocated in Edogawa-ku Tokyo, JPSculptural Walnut Stool Model 687 by Gio Ponti , 1953s I can sent more detail picture.please contact me! Each priceCategory
Vintage 1950s Stools
MaterialsFabric, Walnut
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.