Gio Ponti - Design London Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | Phillips
  • The present model armchairs in the first-class Salone delle Feste of the ‘Augustus’ ocean liner, 1952.
    Paolo Piccione, Gio Ponti: Le Navi: Il Progetto degli Interni Navali 1948-1953, Milan, 2007, p. 33

     

    • Provenance

      De Parma Gallery, London
      Acquired from the above by the present owner, circa 2012

    • Literature

      'Opere d'arte sull'Augustus', Domus, no. 272, July 1952, pp. 25-26, 30
      Paolo Piccione, Gio Ponti: Le Navi: Il Progetto degli Interni Navali 1948-1953, Milan, 2007, p. 33

    • 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

1

Pair of armchairs, from the 'Augustus' ocean liner

circa 1950
Stained walnut, fabric.
Each: 72.3 x 73 x 73.2 cm (28 1/2 x 28 3/4 x 28 7/8 in.)
Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
£15,000 - 20,000 

Sold for £44,450

Contact Specialist

Antonia King
Head of Sale, Design
+44 20 7901 7944
Antonia.King@phillips.com

 

Design

London Auction 31 October 2023