Decorative Arts of the 1900s and Design
Palazzo Crivelli - Via Pontaccio 12, Milan
Viewing: 7, 8, 9 April 2017 (10 am / 1 pm – 2,30/6,30 pm)
Auction: 11 April 2017
On the “key” days of the Milan Furniture Fair (7-8-9 April), the rooms of Palazzo Crivelli, in the heart of Brera, where the “Off Fair” shows will be concentrated, will feature a preview of the Auction of Decorative Arts of the 1900s and Design, including 450 carefully selected lots, mostly from private collections. A can’t miss occasion, following on the heels of the highly successful auction of last June, when the BBPR décor items set new records!
The auction will propose works by Gio Ponti, the BBPR group, Carlo De Carli, Ettore Sottsass, Osvaldo Borsani, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand, Angelo Lelii, Gino Sarfatti, Ico Parisi, Paolo Buffa, Eugenio Quarti, Franco Albini, Ignazio Gardella, Luigi Caccia Dominioni and Vico Magistretti, in addition to an ample section devoted to Scandinavian design.
Among the items from Studio BBPR, there is a large oak credenza designed for a Milanese residence, published by Gio Ponti on the cover of "Domus” magazine in June 1941; a bookcase from the ‘60s and a table designed for Olivetti.
Gio Ponti is represented by a broad range of décor items, objects, drawings and letters, all from private collections. There is a complete parlor set, consisting of a sofa and four armchairs, from the Hotel Parco dei Principi, in Rome, and subsequently in a private collection (accompanied by an expert authentication from the Gio Ponti Archives); a collection of 28 signed letters, enriched by colored drawings, sent to Giovanni Ratto, Ponti’s colleague on the editorial board of the magazine “Domus”. There are also some studies of decorations for ceramics by Richard-Ginori, originally from the collection of Daria Guarnati, with whom Ponti shared, from 1939 to 1941, the brief adventure of the magazine “Aria d’Italia”; the Annunciation, a small ceramic sculpture made by Toni Furlan at the end of 1949, the only one of its kind known to exist; some majolica works dating back to the twenties, from the Pittoria di Doccia by Richard-Ginori and a rare wood coffee table with ceramic inlays by Massimo Campigli (accompanied by an expert authentication from the Gio Ponti Archives).
Osvaldo Borsani, a design artist whose work always attracts great interest, both on the Italian market and abroad, is represented by many furniture pieces, in part realized for a Milanese residence and in part for Villa Macchi, in Civenna, between 1941 and 1943. Particularly worthy of note are a bar in maple with rose-amber mirrored glass, and exceptional console in inlaid mahogany, a mahogany table with an extremely modern latticework structure and a group of refined chairs.
Carlo de Carli, whose décor pieces are attracting growing interest on the international market, is represented by a hanging credenza, a boiserie with bookcase and chest and a serving cart, dating to 1950-51, from the décor items of Casa Galli, as well as a wardrobe and a beautiful bar with a guillotine panel, realized between 1947 and 1950, originating from the furnishings of the Roditi house.
Paolo Buffa is present with a complete bedroom set, as well as a six-branched glass and brass chandelier, a one of a kind piece. There are several décor items designed by Franco Albini, among which a bed identified thanks to the archives of Roberto Poggi, the favorite furniture maker of the prominent Milanese designer.
Ettore Sottsass, Vico Magistretti, Ignazio Gardella, Marco Zanuso, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Sergio Mazza, Cini Boeri, Carla Venosta and Gae Aulenti are some of the well-known Italian designers whose work will be auctioned.
A standout group of about 30 lamps produced in Italy by Venini, Stilnovo, Arteluce and Arredoluce were created by important Italian and international designers, and other lamps were designed for Fontana Arte by Pietro Chiesa and Max Ingrand.
The section dedicated to decorative arts of the 1900s also contains an important group of ceramic objects by Nanni Valentini, from the personal collection of Lino Sabbatini. Piero Gauli, a painter associated with the Corrente group, is represented by a number of rare ceramics, realized between 1947 and 1957. Venini, the Murano glassmaker, is represented by glass objects and lamps designed by Carlo Scarpa, Paolo Venini and Fulvio Bianconi.