The Decorative Arts of the 20th Century and Design Auction, to be held on the 20th and 21st December 2023, divided in three sessions with more than 530 lots, gathers works by the most relevant names of Industrial Design, from decorative arts to furniture produced by Italian firms of the 20th century.
Some of the lots of the first session, all from private collections, are particularly interesting: an extraordinary set, in terms of quantity and rarity, of tables and chairs of the “Monofilo” series by Luciano Grassi, Sergio Conti and Marisa Forlani, dated 1953-55; two pairs of chairs by Franco Albini, coming from the Rifugio Pirovano in Cervinia of 1951; a living room design by the BBPR group in 1962, composed of two sofas and an armchair, coming from the villa ZP in Stresa; and a complete bedroom set by Paolo Buffa, from a villa in Liguria, dating around 1955.
Lot 138
Luciano Grassi, Sergio Conti and Marisa Forlani
Six armchairs model "Artiginato" of the series "Monofilo". Commercializzazione Emilio Paoli, Florence, 1953-55.
Black painted iron tubes and nylon. (89x84x84 cm.) Provenance: Private collection, Milan. Exhibition: Nominated at Compasso d'Oro of 1955.
Estimate € 8,000 - 12,000
Lot 97
Franco Albini
Pair of chairs for the hotel refuge Pirovano in Cervinia.
Produced by Poggi, Pavia, 1951ca. Solid spruce wood.
Shaped seat, backrest in two sections joined by dovetailed crossbar, four tapered legs. (36x82x46 cm.)
Provenance: Private collection, Italy; Albergo Rifugio Pirovano, Cervinia. Exhibition: Il mondo di Poggi.
L'officina del design e delle arti, Musei Civici di Pavia, 2nd of June - 23rd of October 2022.
Estimate € 5,000 - 6,000
The dressing table with bench by Piero Portaluppi dated around 1935 for the G house in Milan are also to be noted and are similar to the one designed for himself and for the Corbellini-Wassermann house (1934-36); an elegant buffet from the 1930s by Antonio Cassi Ramelli and the custom-designed furnishings, unique examples, that Vittorio Gregotti, Lodovico Meneghetti and Giotto Stoppino designed in the 1960s for a house in Novara.
Lot 62
Piero Portaluppi
Wall-mounted hanging toilet cabinet in veneered wood with three drawers, door and storage compartment,
nickel-plated brass handles, circular mirror in etched crystal. Milan, 1935ca. (182x28x24 cm.)
Provenance: G House, Milan.
Estimate € 2,800 - 3,000
Lot 64
Antonio Cassi Ramelli
Wooden and veneered wood buffet with six doors, brass feet and handles,
black opaline superimposed top. Wavy legs with brass tips. Italy, 1930s. (231x122x52 cm.)
Provenance: Private collection, Milan. Authorship recognized by Archivio Cassi Ramelli.
Estimate € 2,800 - 3,000
Lot 134
Vittorio Gregotti, Lodovico Meneghetti and Giotto Stoppino
Wardrobe with ten doors, in solid wood bordered and veneered.
Front covered with vertical teak slats. Compartments equipped with wooden and glass drawers.
Custom made and unique piece. Novara, 1960s. Provenance: House C. Novara.
Estimate € 3,200 - 3,500
Among the most valuable works are also the exceptional vase, for which only a single example is known, designed by Tomaso Buzzi in 1932-33 for the Venini kiln; a “2044” luminous mirror by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte from the 1950s and a floor lamp by Pietro Chiesa from the 1930s; “Formazione Dinamica di una sfera articolata” by Enzo Mari for Danes is a rare example signed in full in the resin; four “S-Chair model 275” chairs in black lacquered curved plywood by Verner Panton; an armchair designed by Edoardo Gellner in 1950-52 for the Bellavista hotel in Cortina d'Ampezzo; two very rare plates by Gio Ponti from 1930 for the Pittoria di Doccia of the Richard Ginori factory; and again, some ironic ceramics by Ico Parisi designed for the IBIS manufacturing company in Cunardo in 1991-92; a collection of “Yantra” ceramics from 1969 by Ettore Sottsass.
Lot 44
Tomaso Buzzi
Vase model "3458". Execution by Venini, Murano, 1932-33.
Double-mouthed body in gray-purple acid-etched glass with application of gold leaf.
Low truncated cone base, "spiral" handle, and filaments resting at the base of the "amber and gold" glass mouths. Unique piece. (18x23x23 cm.)
Exhibition:V Triennale di Milano of 1933.
Estimate € 18,000 - 25,000
Lot 120
Max Ingrand
Mirror model "2044". Produced by Fontana Arte, Milan, 1961.
Concave polished colored crystal frame, mirror fixed to a brass rod with polished crystal gemstones. (d 74 cm.)
Literature: Arredamento, "Quaderni Fontana Arte" n. 2, p. 24.
Estimate € 30,000 - 35,000
Lot 52
Enzo Mari
"Formazione dinamica di una sfera reticolata" Sphere, multiple of the series
"Relazione tra contenuto e contenitore". Produced by Danese, Italy, 1959-1963.
Transparent polyester resin containing a cube defined by a black square mesh lattice. Signed "Enzo Mari" inside the resin. (d 12 cm.)
Literature: S. Casciani, Arte industriale. Gioco, oggetto pensiero. Danese e la sua produzione, Arcadia Edizioni, Milano 1988, pp. 82, 83.
Estimate € 1,700 - 1,800
Lot 96
Verner Panton
Four chairs model "275 S-chair ". Execution by A. Sommer, distribuite da Gebrüder Thonet, Germany, 1965ca.
Shaped and steam-bent plywood, black lacquer. (40x81x44 cm.)
Literature: Verner Panton. Das Gesamtwerk, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein 2000, p. 249.
Estimate € 7,000 - 8,000
Lot 49
Ettore Sottsass
Vase Y29 of the series "Yantra". Design Centre - Poltronova, Italy, 1969ca.
Red glazed cast ceramic under a showcase. Signed under the base in black under the showcase "Yantra Y 29". (38x35x16 cm.)
Provenance: Private collection, Tuscany Former Executive Poltronova.
Literature: F. Ferrari, Sottsass. 1000 Ceramics, Adarte, Torino 2017, p. 149, fig. 777.
Estimate € 2,400 - 2,800
The catalogue will also feature a group of ceramics from the Seventies by Nanni Valentini, coming from the private collection of Prof. Narciso Silvestrini, the proceeds of which will be donated to charity.
Lot 162
Nanni Valentini
"Paesaggio d’acqua" Sculpture. Arcore, 1977. Natural terracotta. Signed and dated. (25x18x10 cm.)
Provenance: Collection Prof. Narciso Silverstrini, Milan. The proceeds from the sale will be donated for charitable purposes.
Artwork registered by the Archivio Nanni Valentini with the code AV1249
Estimate € 1,800 - 2,000