Italian Design

This year we are starting the auction season with a fantastic and refreshing offer of Italian Design. An absolute rarity on the art market is a secretary designed by Gio Ponti with festive, ornamental paintings by Piero Fornasetti in gold on beige such as festoons and musical instruments (estimate € 70.000- 90.000). An invitation to enjoy life in the full! This slender piece of furniture is not only an eyecatcher but also an investment which is worthwhile. According to the Fornasetti-Archive, only 15 copies were manufactured during the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, Fornasetti lovers may also look forward to the folding screen ‚Strumenti Musicali‘ (estimate € 13.000-17.000) which counts among the outstanding pieces of our well stocked Fornasetti-offer.

Among the about 250 lots which are up for auction, various outstanding lamp designs are worth mentioning: Giacomo Benevelli, who came to fame as a sculptor, is represented by two ‚Roto‘ table lamps (estimate € 8.000-11.000). From the end of the 1960s until the end of the 1970s Benevelli designed sculptures and lighting which is today traded at high prices in galleries. The lamp ‚524‘ of acrylic glass by Franco Albini and Franca Helg (1962, estimate € 4.000 - 6.000) cuts quite a dash as a table light as well as a ceiling light. The offer is topped off by elegant floor lights by Angelo Lelli, Ettore Sottsass, and B.B.P.R.

Aldo Tura is represented through several elaborate pieces of salon furniture. A liquor cabinet from the 1950s captivates through its interior of green coloured leather, glass, and mirror faces (estimate € 4.000-6.000). By Ico Parisi, we are offering the dining table ‚Olbia‘ (1958, estimate € 3.000-4.000) as well as the shelf ‚459‘ (c.1955, estimate € 1.800-2.600). Ettore Sottsass is represented through a broad range of his designs- from the typewriter ‚Valentine‘ up to the wonderful vase ‚262‘ - a very early design and therefore a real rarity on the art market (estimate € 3.000-4.000).

143A - Italian Design

The new auction year 2019 started with the 'Italian Design' sale, which offered a wide selection to collectors and enthusiasts.

The designs by Ettore Sottsass were in the limelight, 16 out of 20 designs were sold to international clients from the USA and Europe. The illuminated mirror object 'Ultrafragola' received a hammer price of EUR 7,800. The vase '262' changed ownership for EUR 3,400.

Elegant furniture, such as Aldo Tura's baroque green leather armoire and Space Age lamps, such as Stilnovo's 'Orbital' ceiling light (hammer price: EUR 3,400) and Oscar Torlasco's 'Sputnik' ceiling light (hammer price: EUR 2,800) were in focus of the auction and attracted many online bidders and interested parties on the floor.

Unsold objects will be available in our post auction sale until Friday, 22 March.