Pietro Chiesa - Design London Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private collection, Italy

  • Literature

    Franco Deboni, Fontana Arte: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand, Turin, 2012, fig. 150

  • Catalogue Essay

    Pietro Chiesa was the artistic director of Fontana Arte together with Gio Ponti until 1935, and then independently until his death in 1948. Chiesa is now known mainly for his lighting, and his furniture for Fontana Arte is prized for its relative rarity. In fact he began as a furniture designer and came to lighting design through Fontana Arte. His iconic furniture designs are his case pieces in coloured mirrored glass and his low tables with the most minimal of non-glass components. The tables in particular allowed Chiesa the opportunity to reveal his advanced understanding of the properties and possibilities of glass engineering. In response to the success of Chiesa’s furniture, Ponti said ‘Master, the professional, the mental man, with the work supervised and performed to perfection.’

119

Important coffee table

circa 1938
Glass, brass-covered wood.
52.2 x 171.2 x 99 cm (20 1/2 x 67 3/8 x 38 7/8 in.)
Manufactured by Fontana Arte, Milan, Italy.

Estimate
£20,000 - 30,000 

Sold for £40,000

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Design

London Auction 1 October 2015