PIASA is holding two auction sessions dedicated to Italian design on Wednesday March 23.
Featuring 61 lots, the first part of the sale brings together rare and iconic creations produced between 1940 and 1960 by the lighting editor Fontana Arte, including a large set of pieces designed by Max Ingrand.
The second part of the catalogue, on sale from 6:30 pm, brings together a selection of some 200 pieces by the greatest masters of Italian design from the 1940s to the 1970s, such as Gio Ponti, Paolo Buffa and Ico Parisi.
This new Italian design auction is a great opportunity to discover the Italian design scene of the mid-20th century.
Through the auction of a private collection, the sale will focus on the production of Fontana Arte. Founded in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Gio Ponti, this editor quickly specialised in glass design, both in the field of lighting and small furniture, as the diversity of the pieces in the catalogue attests. The large majority of the selection was designed by the French designer Max Ingrand, who was artistic director of the Italian company for 20 years, between 1948 and 1969, the date of his untimely death. Ingrand graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1927, and returned to his passion for glass at the end of the war, during which he was held captive for five years. His passion for glass was expressed in the creation of furniture and lighting, as well as in the creation of glass ensembles: frescoes for public commissions and stained glass windows for religious buildings. His contribution to Fontana Arte, through his incredible creativity and immense expertise in the material, is undeniable today.
The second part of the sale follows the spirit of design sales that distinguishes PIASA in the market. The catalogue, which includes 201 lots, offers a remarkable selection of objects, furniture and lighting that reflect the remarkable effervescence of Italian design in the 20th century. It includes several pieces by the great figures of this period, such as Carlo Mollino, Paolo Buffa, Ico Parisi, Ettore Sottsass, Franco Albini, Melchiorre Bega, Gino Sarfatti... and, of course, the iconic Gio Ponti, who is present here with some fifty lots.
- Max Ingrand, Fontana Arte - from one property -
