Gio Ponti - Design London Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | Phillips

Design

London Auction 1 October 2015

  • Catalogue Essay

    First designed in 1951, Gio Ponti’s ‘Leggera’ (light) chair was a further development from an earlier Cassina model, in production from 1949, which was also characterised by angular, albeit thicker, stiles and legs. The ‘Leggera’ chair is the result of the architect’s research for a 'chair-chair, an ordinary, modest unqualified chair… with not one adjective'. Ponti intended to market a lightweight, affordable chair of impeccable quality. In 1957 he further refined its form, resulting in the ‘Superleggera’ (super light), with a slimmer structure and a lighter frame. This new model would become one of the most iconic Italian designs known to the world.
    The rarity of the earlier ‘Leggera’ chair is due to the short production of the model, introduced in 1951 and superceded in 1957 by the ‘Superleggera’.

  • Artist Biography

    Gio Ponti

    Italian • 1891 - 1979

    Among the most prolific talents to grace twentieth-century design, Gio Ponti defied categorization. Though trained as an architect, he made major contributions to the decorative arts, designing in such disparate materials as ceramics, glass, wood and metal. A gale force of interdisciplinary creativity, Ponti embraced new materials like plastic and aluminum but employed traditional materials such as marble and wood in original, unconventional ways.

    In the industrial realm, he designed buildings, cars, machinery and appliances — notably, the La Cornuta espresso machine for La Pavoni — and founded the ADI (Industrial Designer Association). Among the most special works by Gio Ponti are those that he made in collaboration with master craftsmen such as the cabinetmaker Giordano Chiesa, the illustrator Piero Fornasetti and the enamellist Paolo de Poli.

    View More Works

142

Gio Ponti

Pair of early 'Leggera' chairs

1950s
Oak laminated moulded plywood, oak.
Each: 82.6 x 42.2 x 48.4 cm (32 1/2 x 16 5/8 x 19 in.)
Manufactured by Cassina, Milan, Italy. Together with a certificate of authenticity from the Gio Ponti Archives.

Estimate
£3,000 - 4,000 

Sold for £2,500

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

Design

London Auction 1 October 2015