Metis Lighting Fontana Arte Nobi Suspension Lamp, Designed 1992
View Similar Items
Metis Lighting Fontana Arte Nobi Suspension Lamp, Designed 1992
About the Item
- Creator:Metis Lighting (Designer),Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 19.3 in (49.03 cm)Width: 9.1 in (23.12 cm)Depth: 5.1 in (12.96 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:2017
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU163926472943
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- Metis Lighting Fontana Arte Nobi Floor Lamp in Frosted Glass, Designed in 1992By Fontana Arte, Metis LightingLocated in Brooklyn, NYDesigned by Metis Lighting in 1992 and manufactured by Fontana Arte, the Nobi floor lamp guarantees total practicality for innovative elegant design. The two bowl-shaped glass discs ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,112 Sale Price20% Off - Fontana Arte "Nobi" LED Floor Lamp in Chrome or Nickel Designed, Metis LightingBy Fontana Arte, Metis LightingLocated in Brooklyn, NY"Nobi" is a floor lamp, designed by Metis Lighting and manufactured by Fontana Arte, featuring a frame in chromed or satin nickel metal, adjustable diffusers in frosted glass and alu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome, Nickel, Metal, Aluminum
$1,112 Sale Price / item20% Off - Fontana Arte "Nobi" LED Wall Lamp Sconce with Glass Diffuser, Metis LightingBy Fontana Arte, Metis LightingLocated in Brooklyn, NY"Nobi" is a wall lamp sconce, designed by Metis Lighting and manufactured by Fontana Arte, featuring a frame in chromed or satin nickel metal, an adjustable diffuser in frosted glass...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsAluminum, Chrome, Nickel, Metal
$620 Sale Price / item20% Off - Nobi Floor Lamp with 4 Diffusers Designed by Metis Lighting for FontanaArteBy Fontana Arte, Metis LightingLocated in Brooklyn, NY"Nobi 4" is a floor lamp, designed by Metis Lighting and manufactured by FontanaArte, featuring a frame in chromed or satin nickel metal, diffusers in frosted glass and black power c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome, Nickel, Metal, Aluminum
$1,436 Sale Price / item20% Off - Fontana Arte Pudding Aluminium Suspension Lamp, Designed 1995By Fontana ArteLocated in Brooklyn, NYFrom the archives of Fontana Arte, the pudding suspension lamp was designed in 1995 and is made of faceted anodized and cast aluminum reflector that looks like a pudding mold. It is ...Category
1990s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsAluminum
$1,361 Sale Price20% Off - "Nobi" Wall Lamp with Frosted Glass Diffuser by Metis Lighting for FontanaArteBy Fontana Arte, Metis LightingLocated in Brooklyn, NY"Nobi" is a wall lamp, designed by Metis Lighting and manufactured by FontanaArte, featuring a matte white (matte RAL 9003), chromed or nickel plated satin metal frame, a frosted gla...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsChrome, Nickel, Metal, Aluminum
$772 Sale Price / item20% Off
- Four "Nobi" Wall Lamps by Metis Lighting for Fontana Arte, 1992By Fontana Arte, Metis LightingLocated in Sacile, PNFour "NOBI" wall lamps by Metis Lighting for Fontana Arte, 1992. The wall lamp Nobi guarantees total practicality for innovative elegant design. The two bowl-shaped glass discs ar...Category
1990s Italian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal
- PANGEN - Suspension Lamp - White by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThis lampshade is a fluid, minimal dome shape, its lacquer finish and modern colors ensuring surprising lighting. Available in suspension and ceiling mounted versions. Suspension la...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
$1,375 / item - PANGEN - Suspension Lamp - Red by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThis lampshade is a fluid, minimal dome shape, its lacquer finish and modern colors ensuring surprising lighting. Available in suspension and ceiling mounted versions. Suspension la...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
$1,375 / item - Suspension Light by Fontana ArteBy Fontana ArteLocated in Los Angeles, CASuspension light by Fontana Arte. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1960s. Satin glass diffuser, satin nickel hardware. Custom...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsNickel
- Nobi Floor Lamp by Fontana Arte, 1990sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Chicago, ILNobi floor lamp by Fontana Arte. Chrome with glass shade, circa 1990.Category
20th Century Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Gio Ponti for Fontana Arte Suspension Pendant LampBy Fontana Arte, Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAGio Ponti pendant lamp for Fontana Arte originally designed in the 1930s is an iconic design. This lamp was produced in Italy during the late 1980s and features varying sizes of hori...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsChrome
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
We Took Over a Historic Milan Palazzo and Filled It with Edgy Design
With "A New Breed," we showcased exceptional pieces by rising talents, a rapidly growing area of strength among 1stdibs' many offerings.
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.