Gaetano Sciolari "Cubic" Chrome Chandelier
View Similar Items
Gaetano Sciolari "Cubic" Chrome Chandelier
About the Item
- Creator:Gaetano Sciolari (Designer),Lightolier (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970
- Condition:Minor losses. Minor fading.
- Seller Location:Van Nuys, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 20445471stDibs: LU947413980472
Gaetano Sciolari
The work of celebrated mid-century Italian lighting designer and entrepreneur Angelo Gaetano Sciolari became widely popular in the United States during the postwar years and strongly influenced lighting makers around the world. The sculptural forms and striking geometric details of his vintage floor lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures fit seamlessly into the mid-century modern and Hollywood Regency interiors of the day.
Sciolari formally studied architecture but also pursued filmmaking for a short period. When his father passed away in 1949, Sciolari took the reins at his family's company, Sciolari Lighting, which had been in business in Rome since 1892. The manufacturer expanded considerably under Gaetano’s leadership. For one, pioneering American lighting company Lightolier, in New York City, began to import the Italian brand’s lighting for the U.S. market, and Lightolier’s star designer, Gerald Thurston, was significantly influenced by Gaetano’s work. In the 1970s, Americans looking to add provocative fixtures created by Gaetano Sciolari to their living rooms could find them in Lightolier catalogs.
Sciolari initially crafted lamps and sconces that bore the hallmarks of traditional Italian design. But during the 1950s, when he would become the in-house designer for legendary Milan lighting manufacturer Stilnovo — one of the leaders of Italian postwar design — he created revolutionary fixtures that endured as his best-known work.
Sciolari drew on a range of influences — enthusiasts see the imprint of Art Deco, brutalism and more in his lighting — and designed futuristic Space Age chandeliers, ceiling lamps and pendants for Stilnovo as well as Stilkronen and S.A. Boulanger that defied the conventions of the time. A dizzying array of materials and finishes characterizes the designer’s work, while geometry is pronounced in each sculptural fixture — there are blown opal glass spheres, polished chrome tubes and brass square bulb holders. These combinations were critical to the development of dazzling lighting that proves eye-catching in any space decades later.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Angelo Gaetano Sciolari lighting today.
Lightolier
Founded in 1904 in New York and family-operated through most of its history, Lightolier was one of the pioneering American electric lighting companies, best known for its embrace of stylistic and technical innovations.
Collectors focus on vintage Lightolier lighting fixtures produced from the 1950s and into the 1970s, when an in-house design team led by Gerald Thurston — and a stellar cast of international design contributors — created an array of practical yet aesthetically lively table lamps, floor lamps, sconces and chandeliers.
Amidst the post-World War II building boom, Lightolier — the name combines “light” and “chandelier” — aggressively boosted its residential lighting division. Thurston, who was strongly influenced by the sleek designs of Gino Sarfatti and his Italian lighting firm Arteluce, towards simpler lamp designs that offered flexibility of function. His best-known designs include the Cricket task light — a lamp with an adjustable enameled metal hood that toggles on a slender bent-metal base — and the three-legged Tripod floor lamp. At the same time, Thurston had a wonderful eye for talent and sought work from some of the lesser-known greats of the era, such as Paavo Tynell, the Finnish lighting designer, who designed several brass chandeliers for Lightolier with his trademark elegant flamboyance.
And more, Thurston recognized abilities in designers not known for their work in lighting.
Edward Wormley, head of furniture design for Dunbar, produced several noteworthy chandeliers employing canisters and reflective hoods. Alvin Lustig was famed as a graphic designer. His ca. 1953 Ring ceiling fixture for Lightolier had a minimalist techno look some 30 years ahead of its time. But this was par. Designed by Michael Lax in 1964, the Lytegem high-intensity lamp — included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art — features a ball-shaped shade attached with a chromed armature to a cubic base, a form that would be widely copied in the following decade. Chandeliers designed in the early 1970s by Gaetano Sciolari, with details such as acrylic diffusers and vertical, two-bulb arms, would define the look of lighting in their day.
A look through these pages reveals just how astonishingly wide a range of lighting pieces Lightolier produced. The company never flicked off its stylistic switch.
Find a collection of vintage Lightolier lamps and other lighting fixtures on 1stDibs.
- Rare Gaetano Sciolari Chrome and Beaded Crystal ChandelierBy Lightolier, Gaetano SciolariLocated in Van Nuys, CAThis rare 1960s chandelier by Sciolari features cascading crystal beads and teardrops set against a chrome frame. addx1Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCrystal, Steel, Chrome
- Chrome Drum Chandelier with Frosted Glass ShadeLocated in Van Nuys, CALarge chromed steel drum chandelier with a frosted glass shade suspended by three cubist-style fasteners and a chrome center screw cap. The chandel...Category
2010s American Post-Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsGlass
- "Ice Cubes" Ceiling Light by Gaetano Sciolari for LightolierBy Gaetano SciolariLocated in Van Nuys, CAPair available of flush mount "Ice Cubes" ceiling light fixtures by Gaetano Sciolari for Lightolier featuring a brass plates with four thick bevelled ice block glass shades.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Italian Sputnik Chandelier in Rosewood Chrome with Glass ShadesLocated in Van Nuys, CAItalian Mid-century Sputnik chandelier with chrome arms and rosewood accents, circa 1960. Each arm holds a frosted glass shade textured with clear cut-outs.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Midcentury Style Chrome Multi-Light Sputnik Chandelier "MOVING SALE"Located in Van Nuys, CALarge Mid-Century Modern style Sputnik chandelier consisting of over 80 chrome rods that extend from its chromed steel center point with chrome balls and light sockets. It is suspended from a chromed steel dome canopy and rod. It has been newly made and the height can be adjusted by the maker. Product handcrafted in the USA with the highest quality materials and over 30 years of experience in Luxury: Lighting (chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps, sconces), fine furniture, bronze sculpture and in all home decor design styles. Bronze sculptures cast using the lost wax bronze method as utilized by the original master sculpture artists; casts originate from original antique works not degraded copies or artistic conceptions! Art Deco decor proudly operates with the highest ethical core values as a foundation. Antique products...Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Large Midcentury Style Chrome Multi-Light Sputnik Chandelier "MOVING SALE"Located in Van Nuys, CAMid-Century Modern style Sputnik chandelier consisting of 101 chrome rods that extends from its brushed steel center point with each chrome rod having its own light socket. Measures: Large 34" tall. Product handcrafted in the USA with the highest quality materials and over 30 years of experience in Luxury: Lighting (chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps, sconces), fine furniture, bronze sculpture and in all home decor design styles. Bronze sculptures cast using the lost wax bronze method as utilized by the original master sculpture artists; casts originate from original antique works not degraded copies or artistic conceptions! Art Deco decor proudly operates with the highest ethical core values as a foundation. Antique products...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers an...
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Gaetano Sciolari for Lightolier MCM Italian Chrome and Glass Ice Cube ChandelierBy Gaetano Sciolari, LightolierLocated in Countryside, ILGaetano Sciolari for Lightolier mid-century Italian chrome and glass ice cube chandelier This chandelier measures: 22 wide x 22 deep x 32 inches high We take our photos in a co...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsChrome
- Vintage Chrome Bird Cage Chandelier by Gaetano SciolariBy Gaetano Sciolari, Sciolari LightingLocated in New York, NYStunning chrome ball chandelier in excellent original condition, clean working and ready to install. This fixture is often referred to as the Bi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsChrome
- Gaetano Sciolari Sirius Silver Plated Midcentury Chandelier, Lightolier, ItalyBy Gaetano Sciolari, LightolierLocated in Vienna, ATAn impressive Modernist chandelier from the 1960s, model Sirius", designed by Gaetano Sciolari for Lightoiler, Italy. Made from silvered brass. The chandelier has three arms and offe...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsSilver, Brass
- Murano Gaetano Sciolari Attr. Four Arm Chrome Chandelier, 1970sBy Gaetano SciolariLocated in Copenhagen, DKSculptural Italian atomic age art deco style chandelier designed and manufactured in the early 1970s. Attributed to Gaetano Sciolari. Four stunning mout...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Monumental Mid-Century Modern Chrome Chandelier by Gaetano SciolariBy Gaetano Sciolari, Reggiani, Sciolari Lighting, Arteluce, StilnovoLocated in Houston, TXMonumental Mid-Century Modern Chrome Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari. Huge Magnificent large 24-light Mid-Century Modern chrome chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari for Sciolari lighting. ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsChrome
- Mid-Century Murano Glass and Chrome Chandelier by Gaetano SciolariBy Gaetano SciolariLocated in Antwerp, BEChandelier designed by Gaetano Sciolari and produced by Sciolari Lighting in chromed metal and glass, eight E14 bulbs. Angelo Gaetano Sciolari (1927-1994) was the owner of Sciolari Lighting and designer for the Italian manufacturer Stilnovo in the 1950s.[1] It was while working for Stilnovo that Sciolari "created his most recognizable and celebrated designs, a series of multi-light chandeliers fashioned with both glossy and matte metal, conjuring up futuristic visions of the dawning space age." [2] Throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s his designs were in high demand, with his designs imported to the American market by Lightolier & Progress Lighting.[1] During this same period, his designs appeared prominently in popular television and film due to their luxurious and futuristic appearance. [1] This has been considered remarkable because Sciorlari's first love was the cinema, a passion he gave up to pursue architecture.[3] He is also remembered as providing a "considerable contribution to the success of the Italian design around the world and in particular in the United States." [3] Despite passing away in 1994, Sciolari's designs have grown in popularity and demand, becoming sought after collectors pieces and fetching a high retail price. [4] Sciolari's Geometric Series, Habitat Series, Cultura Series, and Futura Series are among the most sought after. [4] Noted Interior designer Veere Grenney often uses Sciolari, having recently updated a home designed by John Nash Round, the architect of Buckingham Palace and much of Regency London, with a Sciolari fixture that he described as " a piece of sculpture on the ceiling".[5] A Sciolari chandelier now hangs in Howard Hughes's former mansion, a Spanish Colonial hacienda...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Chrome