Important and Sculptural Unique Ico Parisi and Fontana Arte Dining Table, 1950
About the Item
- Creator:Fontana Arte (Manufacturer),Ico Parisi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.11 in (79 cm)Width: 78.75 in (200 cm)Depth: 38.59 in (98 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Rome, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU95006023673
Ico Parisi
Domenico “Ico” Parisi was one half of a prolific postwar design duo he comprised with his wife, Luisa. Their furniture designs are known for running the stylistic gamut, with celebrated mid-century modern pieces ranging from elegantly skeletal — like dramatic ebonized dining chairs — to plush and shapely, like the iconic 1951 Egg chair, in a plethora of materials.
The son of an art teacher father, Ico Parisi was exposed to art at an early age. Born in 1916 in the Sicilian capital of Palermo, he and his family moved to Como in 1925. There, the young Parisi would begin to develop his interest in architecture and design. After earning a degree as a building inspector in 1936 and working as a civil engineer, Parisi took on an apprenticeship in the studio of Giuseppe Terragni, the modernist, fascist Italian architect, pioneer of the Rationalist movement and creator of the iconic Casa del Fascio.
While working for Terragni, Parisi crossed paths with such contemporary design talents as Lucio Fontana, Bruno Munari and Pietro Lingeri, though he briefly moved away from design and architecture to explore photography and film. His artistic work would soon be interrupted, however, by the outbreak of World War II, during which he served at the front before returning to Como in 1943. There, he resumed work as a designer and architect, founding two architecture groups: the Alta Quota and the Gruppo Como.
Through his creative circles, Parisi met Luisa Aiani, a former student of the prolific architect and furniture designer Gio Ponti, who was affiliated with the Alta Quota. They married in 1947 and founded the studio La Ruota — a cross between a design firm and an intellectual salon — in Como shortly thereafter. In 1950, Parisi finally completed his architectural schooling, studying under the nationalist architect Alberto Sartoris at the Athenaeum Architecture School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He and Aiani began several decades of sophisticated output, designing curved sofas upholstered in yellow velvet and armchairs with slender mahogany frames for enduring Italian manufacturers such as Cassina and others.
Much like Charles and Ray Eames in America, the Parisis worked as a team and relied on experimentation in style and material for many of their designs. Ico Parisi died in Como in 1996.
Find a collection of vintage Ico Parisi coffee tables, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Luni (la Spezia) , Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Ico Parisi Round Walnut Dining Table, Three Feet, 1950By Ico ParisiLocated in Rome, ITImportant center or dining table in walnut and mirrored top, attributed to Arch. Ico Parisi mirrored top; the mirror glass is not coeval at the tabl...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Fine Attr. Ico Parisi walnut dining or console table, 1950By Ico ParisiLocated in Rome, ITfine and elegant dining table attributed to Ice Parisi, circa 1950 also usable as a console or center table thick top with owl's beak finish the supporting structure of this table is...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Pair of Walnut in the style of Ico Parisi Curved Wall Mirrors, 1950By Ico ParisiLocated in Rome, ITPair of big wall mirror in the style of Ico Parisi, circa 1950 walnut mirror bronze Measures: 40x 150 x 10 cm.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsBrass
- Ico Parisi Wood and Laminate toilette desk with mirror, Hotel Lorena, 1960By Ico Parisi, BerniniLocated in Rome, ITIco and Luisa Parisi vanity desk from Hotel Lorena, Grosseto manufacured by Ditta Bernini Italy, 1959-60 wood, mirrored glass and laminate Measures: H 75cm,110 x 45 cm ; total hei...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMirror, Laminate, Wood
- Stunning Italian wood and Black Opaline Glass Dining Table, 1940Located in Rome, ITStunning Italian modern dining table, circa 1940. Unique piece in the style of Guglielmo Ulrich. Very good original condition Rosewood, rare black opali...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOpaline Glass, Wood
- Ico Parisi Rare Large Wood and Laminate Desk with Mirror, Hotel Lorena, 1959.60By Ico Parisi, BerniniLocated in Rome, ITIco and Luisa Parisi vanity desk from Hotel Lorena, Grosseto manufacured by Ditta Bernini Italy, 1959-60 this desk is very rare because this is the large version of the desk and...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMirror, Laminate, Mahogany
- Dining Table, Ico Parisi Style, 1950sBy Ico ParisiLocated in Palermo, PADining table by Ico Parisi (in the style of), Italian production, 1950s. Wood, brass and green coloured glass. Good condition with signs of wear. Dimensions: H = 80cm ; W = 198c...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Ico Parisi Attributed Dining Table Italy 1950By Ico ParisiLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantA rare and beautiful high dining or centre table attributed to a design by Ico Parisi and made in Italy 1950. This fantastic shaped and well-crafted dining table has a beautiful soli...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Ico Parisi Dining Table, 1960sBy Ico ParisiLocated in Rome, ITOval shape dining table bicolor, navy blue and grey glass top with six chairs. Available also a bar cabinet and the side board of the same set. Very good original vintage conditio...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
- 1950s Modernist Green Dining Table after Ico Parisi ItalyBy Ico ParisiLocated in Chula Vista, CA1950s Modern Italian Green Dining Table after Ico Parisi table has a lovely sculptural shape. finished in mahogany. unmarked attributed Ico ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood, Mahogany
- Large Ico Parisi Architectural Dining TableBy Ico ParisiLocated in London, GBA large Italian Mid-Century dining table by Ico Parisi, with ebonised architectural legs and a pau ferro veneered top, with ebonised edge. This table will comfortably seat twelve.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBeech
- Ico Parisi Olimpino Sculptural Glass Metal Dining Table for Cassina, newBy Cassina, Ico ParisiLocated in Berlin, DEPrice is dependent on the chosen materials and size. Also available in 270 x 105 x 74cm. Available materials: TOP FINISH: VETRO TORTORA VETRO FLOAT VETRO FUMÈ ANTRACITE VETRO PE...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMetal