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Tavolino 1932 Side Table

Gio Ponti - 1932

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A polished nickel-plated brass shaft pierces the centre of two thick concentric glass discs for Tavolino 1932, the coffee table named after the year of its design by Gio Ponti. The piece was an homage to construction industry float glass, which was still being made by Luigi Fontana at the time.

The 1932 table was a state-of-the-art design but it was also intended to be practical, with its two versatile tops.

Gio Ponti had a tough remit but his solution was extremely simple. He eased the chunky impact of the tops and metal support by staggering the diameter of the two clear glass discs, simultaneously creating movement.

The Tavolino 1932 coffee table has lost none of the timeless elegance that earned it contemporary design icon status.

Gio Ponti was born in Milan in 1891. Right from the start, this eclectic character was active in the fields of architecture, painting, graphics and set design. He graduated from Milan Polytechnic in 1920 and was art director for Richard-Ginori from 1923 till 1930. In 1926, with editor Gianni Mazzocchi, he founded the magazine Domus, staying on as editor until his death in 1979. He was invited to take over the art direction of Luigi Fontana in 1931 and in 1932 he founded FontanaArte together with Pietro Chiesa.

He was one of the promoters of the Compasso d'Oro Award and a founder member of the ADI (Italian association for industrial design), as well as curating programmes for the Milan Triennale on many occasions and teaching at Milan Polytechnic.

Ponti designed numerous famous public and private buildings, including the houses in Via De Togni, the tower-house in Corso Venezia, offices for RAI and Ferrania, the Littoria tower in Parco Sempione, the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan, Taranto Cathedral, Villa Planchart in Caracas, and the Denver Museum of Modern Art.

In the field of design he created timeless furniture, lighting and objects for FontanaArte, as well as the Superleggera chair and furniture for Cassina, Christofle cutlery and Richard Ginori china. Some of his FontanaArte pieces still in production include the 0024, Bilia, Pirellina and Pirellone lamps, and the Tavolino 1932 table.

FontanaArte

In 1881, Luigi Fontana starts his business in Milan, manufacturing float glass for the construction industry. As the century draws to a close, the company is producing refined bespoke and one-off glass furnishing accessories.

In 1931 the architect, designer and founding editor of Domus magazine, Gio Ponti is invited to take over the company’s art direction. Several of the pieces he designs for FontanaArte are still in production, including the 0024 Suspension, Bilia, Pirellina, and Pirellone lamps, and the Tavolino 1932 coffee table.

In the mid-thirties, Gio Ponti decides it’s time to give a boost to Luigi Fontana’s line of prestigious furnishing accessories and invites Pietro Chiesa to join him in the art direction.

Chiesa is a distinguished master glazier who enlists the craftsmen from his own workshop to join him.
It is a short leap to the launch of FontanaArte, a new division with a mission to develop products with a more artisanal feel, ranging from stained glass to limited series of furnishing and lighting accessories.

As the years roll by, Pietro Chiesa plays a key role in the company as his creative verve offers ample proof that he is a versatile master of vast cultural and technical expertise. He designs over a thousand different pieces, some of which make design history and which remain in production today, including the 1932 curved-glass Fontana table, the Cartoccio vase (1932), and the Luminator floor lamp (1933).

In the mid-Fifties French master glazier and decorator Max Ingrand, renowned for his stunning stained-glass church windows, is invited to the art direction team. He takes the company towards more intensely industrial production but always keeping the craftsmen in his sights.

In the seventies, Architect Gae Aulenti, who had already worked with the company in the past, becomes another leading light in the corporate renewal process.

Her first move was to makeover the collection, personally designing lamps and furnishing accessories that are still in the catalogue. At the same time she recruited a team of young contributors, validating the corporate mission to scout talent and acknowledging the importance of various strategic communication levers.

FontanaArte’s legendary success is forever linked to Ponti, Chiesa, Ingrand and Aulenti, but also to its reliance on prestigious partnerships, initiating in winning alliances with internationally renowned architects or emerging young talents who all have contributed to what is a phantasmagorical collection in many ways: lighting with personality inspired by established styling.

Side table

Frame in nickel-plated metal, two 15mm glass disks

SPECIFICATIONS

Diameter 61cm, height 61cm
Note: this product is FRAGILE, please make adequate arrangements for the reception

Made in Italy

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