The auction of 20th Century Decorative Arts and Design, scheduled for 25, 26 and 27 June 2025, features a curated selection of 597 lots, divided across four sessions, representing a broad and varied panorama of high quality.
Opening the event, on the afternoon of 25 June, are 150 lots of particular historical and artistic significance. In recent years, similar works have attracted growing attention and have been included in major exhibitions dedicated to the decorative arts and 20th-century design — a testament to the increasing interest among collectors in these disciplines.
Among the most notable pieces is the extremely rare shell-shaped vase by Hans Stoltenberg Lerche, created in 1912, presented at that year’s Venice Biennale, and recently exhibited in 1912–1930. Il vetro di Murano e la Biennale di Venezia, curated by Marino Barovier (Le Stanze del Vetro, San Giorgio Island, Venice, 14 April – 24 November 2024). The vase, the only one bearing the artist’s signature, is one of only two known examples and marks the beginning of the Art Nouveau revolution in Murano glassmaking (lot 439).
Lott0 439
Hans Stoltenberg Lerche
Shell-shaped vase. Execution by Fratelli Toso, Murano, 1912ca. Blown clear glass with green vertical filaments and coloured grit, both included in the wall of the vase. Colourless filaments heat-applied to the wall. Colourless glass base with green filaments included. Engraved signature "H. S. Lerche". (21.5x20.5 cm.).
Estimate € 25,000 - 30,000
Equally noteworthy is a chair from Villa K2 – Casa Cattaneo, designed and furnished in 1952–53 by Carlo Mollino on the Agra plateau (VA) (lot 449). This model, now iconic, was later used by Mollino in furnishing the Casa del Sole in Cervinia.
By Gio Ponti, a rare urn-shaped vase titled “Le passioni prigioniere” stands as a pinnacle of the Milanese architect’s work during his tenure as artistic director at Richard Ginori. This period established Italy’s leadership in defining the Art Deco and early 20th-century aesthetic, as highlighted in the current exhibition at Palazzo Reale in Milan (Art Déco. Il trionfo della modernità, curated by Valerio Terraroli, 27 February – 29 June 2025) (lot 426). Several other ceramics from this period, along with Ponti-designed furnishings, will also be featured in the first auction session on 25 June.
Luigi Caccia Dominioni is represented by a rare sofa, published by Roberto Aloi in 1956 and never entered into the standard Azucena catalogue (lot 334). Other furniture and lighting by Caccia Dominioni — some very rare — will be auctioned both in the first session on 25 June and in the fourth session on the afternoon of 27 June.
Lot 449
Carlo Mollino
Chair for Villa K2. Execution by Ettore Canali, Brescia, 1953ca. Solid oak and chestnut wood, brass. (43x94x45 cm.).
Estimate € 16,000 - 18,000
Lot 426
Gio Ponti "Le passioni prigioniere"
Rare urn-shaped vase of the series "La Passeggiata Archeologica". Manufacture of Richard-Ginori, Pittoria di Doccia, Florence, 1925. Hand-painted porcelain in purple, grey and gold.
Estimate € 11,000 - 12,000
Lot 334
Luigi Caccia Dominioni
Sofa. Execution by Azucena, Milan, 1955ca. Grey painted metal and wood frame, cashmere pattern fabric upholstery. (194x95x84 cm.).
Estimate € 11,000 - 12,000
A highlight in its own right is the iconic “Mitragliera” floor lamp by Franco Albini, designed in the late 1940s. This symbolic and politically charged creation reinterprets the form of a rifle — a weapon of the recently ended war — transforming it into an elegant, light object intended for the peace of the domestic environment (lot 448). In 1954, Albini also designed the top-floor apartment of Caterina Marcenaro in Palazzo Rosso, Genoa. Marcenaro, then director of the Strada Nuova Museums, commissioned the redesign of the public collections of Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Rosso. Her apartment remains a masterpiece of Italian interior design and a manifesto of Albini’s poetics of suspension and lightness. The apartment’s famous suspended fireplace was later recreated with some variations for an important client in Pavia during the 1960s/70s, under the supervision of Roberto Poggi, cabinetmaker and exclusive maker of Albini’s furniture (lot 447).
Lot 448
Franco Albini
Floor lamp model "Mitragliera. Probabile esecuzione Arteluce di Gino Sarfatti". Milan, disegno del 1948ca. esemplare dei primi anni '50ca. Solid teak wood frame.
Estimate € 11,000 - 12,000
Lot 447
D'après Franco Albini
Center fireplace inspired by the specimen designed and made by Franco Albini for Caterina Marcenaro's apartment at Palazzo Rosso in Genoa (1954). Pavia, 1960s/1970sca.
Estimate € 9,000 - 10,000
Two vases by Tomaso Buzzi, produced by Venini, are on offer: one with a heart-shaped opening, the other large with classical forms, in lagoon and sunset hues respectively, which reveal unexpected nuances when lit. Both were crafted using the exquisite multi-layered incamiciato glass technique invented by Buzzi for Venini in the 1920s (lots 437–438).
Also included are rare and valuable lighting pieces by Max Ingrand and Pietro Chiesa, notably Ingrand’s model “1538” table lamp (lot 326), and Chiesa’s floor lamp (lot 317), both drawing on a Space Age aesthetic.
Lot 438
Tomaso Buzzi
Large vase model "9028". Venini, Murano, 1933ca. Multilayer incamiciato ‘tramonto’ glass with gold leaf application, hot-applied foot, inverted bell-shaped body with slightly expanded mouth. Acid-etched signature on two lines on the rim "venini murano". (h 30 cm.; d 31.5 cm.).
Estimate € 9,000 - 10,000
Lot 326
Max Ingrand
Table lamp model "1538". Execution by Fontana Arte, Milan, 1950s. Brass frame and thick crystal, lower diffuser disk of clear colorless glass etched on the outer surface, upper diffuser disk of rose-colored crystal etched on the outer surface. (h 48 cm.).
Estimate € 7,500 - 8,000
Among the furniture highlights: three lots of “Africa” chairs by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto (lots 442–443, 445); a table and chairs, unique pieces designed in the 1950s by Giuseppe Samonà, then Dean of IUAV Venice and a key figure in post-war Italian urban and architectural culture (lots 440–441); a rationalist coffee table in nickel-plated metal and glass by Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini (lot 444); a selection of furniture and lighting by Gabriella Crespi (lots 349–352, 821) and Nanda Vigo (lots 347–348); a lot of “1725” chairs by Warren Platner for Knoll (lot 446); and various furnishings and lights by Guglielmo Ulrich, from a private collection (lots 355–361, 756).
Lot 442
Afra Scarpa and Tobia Scarpa
Four chairs model "Africa" of the series "Artona". Produced by Maxalto, Italy, 1970s. Solid wood, plywood and leather. (55.5x80x43.5 cm.).
Estimate € 6,200 - 6,500
Lot 352
Gabriella Crespi
Table lamp model "Fungo". Milan, 1970. Polished brass and opal perspex. Engraved signature on the base and at the top of the lampshade "Gabriella Crespi". (h 70 cm.).
Estimate € 5,000 - 6,000
Lot 446
Warren Platner
Ten small armchairs model "1725". Produced by Knoll International, Usa, 1966. Bent steel rod frame, upholstered seat and backrest covered in fabric. Bearing manufacturer's labels. (cm 73x75x60).
Estimate € 6,200 - 6,500
An extensive selection of ceramic vases by Galileo Chini and French Art Nouveau and Art Deco glassware, all from a prestigious Italian private collection (lots 362–382), completes the first session.
The following days feature a wide array of Italian furniture, lighting, ceramics, and glassware, ranging from the 1910s to the 1990s. Also included are several specially curated sections of note: a collection of Carlo Scarpa drawings (lots 607–610); a section dedicated to over fifty lots by Angelo Mangiarotti, from the Ambroset collection (lots 839–896); and a substantial group of furnishings by Osvaldo Borsani, all sourced from private Milanese residences (lots 404–414, 510–513, 515, 518–519, 521–523, 525–527).
Lot 370
Emile Gallé "Papillon"
Blown glass vase with white opalescent, transparent orange and amethyst speckled powders with inlaid coloured glass inserts engraved with grinding wheel depicting butterflies. Nancy, late XIX/early XX century. Engraved signature on the body of the vase "Gallé". (h 17 cm.).
Estimate € 5,000 - 6,000
Lot 895
Angelo Mangiarotti
Table model "Asolo". Produced by La Fucina per Skipper, Italy, 1981ca. Polished red granite with joints. Rare limited edition.
Estimate € 2,600 - 2,800
Lot 409
Osvaldo Borsani
Table with circular top. Execution by Arredamenti Borsani Varedo, To, 40. Alabaster top inlaid and decorated with maple leaves in various marbles, solid mahogany frame. (h 75 cm.; d 124 cm.).
Estimate € 3,500 - 4,000