◆ 7 Gio Ponti Follow Important and rare low table, designed for the Contini Bonacossi residence, Quadreria Moderna, Villa Vittoria, Florence 1927 Rosso Toscano marble, brass, walnut. 41.5 x 226.7 x 74.2 cm (16 3/8 x 89 1/4 x 29 1/4 in.) Executed by master cabinetmaker Angelo Magnoni for Quarti, Milan, Italy. From the production of two. Underside with metal label facsimile signature Gio Ponti and thrice stamped MAGNONI ANGELO/EBANISTA/28 VIA MELZO 28/MILANO . Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.
Provenance Contini Bonacossi residence, Quadreria Moderna, Villa Vittoria, Florence, 1927 Thence by descent Literature 'Alcuni mobili di Tomaso Buzzi e di Gio Ponti nella dimora dei Conti C. in Firenze', Domus, no. 71, November 1933, illustrated pp. 580-581 Ugo La Pietra ed., Gio Ponti L’arte si innamora dell’industria , New York, 2009, illustrated p. 51, fig. 119 Giunti Editore, Le collezione Contini Bonacossi, nelle Gallerie degli Uffizi , Florence, 2018, illustrated p. 44 Catalogue Essay The origins of the Contini Bonacossi family’s art collection began with the encounter of Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, later receiving the title of count, and Erminia Vittoria Galli Feroldi. Already a collector and dealer of stamps, Alessandro, when he married Vittoria in 1888, soon turned his focus towards Old Masters. Together, Alessandro and Vittoria travelled to America, where they cultivated important relationships with art collectors and museums, in order to further expand and enrich their collection, all of which was beautifully chronicled in Vittoria’s diaries ‘Diari Americani’. Although from humble origins, through her natural intuition Vittoria developed an incredibly sophisticated eye for identifying exceptional works of art. She soon became an irreplaceable advisor, not only to her husband Alessandro, but also to art critics such as Bernard Berenson and Roberto Longhi. Returning to Italy, they settled in Florence, where they acquired a nineteenth-century villa built by Marquess Massimiliano Strozzi, which Alessandro then renamed Villa Vittoria in honour of his beloved wife. With the priority of accommodating their magnificent art collection, the villa underwent extensive refurbishment under the supervision of Gio Ponti Tomaso Buzzi and Giulio Rosso. The display and placement of the artworks was inspired by the principles of Wilhelm von Bode, the first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, known today as the Bode Museum. Completed in 1927, the house was frequented by art critics, museum directors, painters, writers, and aristocracy. The ground floor retained its original nineteenth-century Neo-Renaissance style, housing their antiques and Old Masters collection, which included works by Giovanni Bellini Gian Lorenzo Bernini Titian, Paolo Veronese Paolo Uccello Tintoretto, El Greco Diego Velazquez, and many others. A token of her devotion, Vittoria kept a notebook with the names and dates of each of the artists in their collection, donating five liras of silver to the church to hold a mass in honour of their anniversaries. The modern art collection, which was Vittoria’s foremost passion, was located on the first floor in the Quadreria moderna (modern picture gallery), and displayed works amongst others by Giorgio de Chirico Giorgio Morandi Marino Marini and Carlo Carrà For the space, which occupied a long hallway, Ponti designed several pieces, comprising six stools, four benches and two tables, adopting a neoclassical style inspired by ancient Rome. Each work was executed by master cabinetmaker Angelo Quarti using walnut, leather, brass and marble. The present lot was one of two low tables that were positioned in the centre of the gallery, each featuring a different coloured marble tabletop, Verde delle Alpi and Rosso Toscano respectively. The brass table legs feature a sculptural quality illustrating Ponti’s desire to create an environment honouring the exceptional quality of the surrounding art collection. Of Ponti’s works from this period, this commission stands out for its exceptional level of execution. In 1943, when Florence was freed by their American allies, General Mark W. Clark and the high command were stationed at the Villa Vittoria. Recalling his stay, General Clark stated: 'It was worth fighting the war to live in this house, to get to know you, for everything ...’ Today Villa Vittoria is Florence’s Congress Palace. As outlined in Contini Bonacossi’s will, part of the collection was donated to the State
◆ 7 Gio Ponti Follow Important and rare low table, designed for the Contini Bonacossi residence, Quadreria Moderna, Villa Vittoria, Florence 1927 Rosso Toscano marble, brass, walnut. 41.5 x 226.7 x 74.2 cm (16 3/8 x 89 1/4 x 29 1/4 in.) Executed by master cabinetmaker Angelo Magnoni for Quarti, Milan, Italy. From the production of two. Underside with metal label facsimile signature Gio Ponti and thrice stamped MAGNONI ANGELO/EBANISTA/28 VIA MELZO 28/MILANO . Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.
Provenance Contini Bonacossi residence, Quadreria Moderna, Villa Vittoria, Florence, 1927 Thence by descent Literature 'Alcuni mobili di Tomaso Buzzi e di Gio Ponti nella dimora dei Conti C. in Firenze', Domus, no. 71, November 1933, illustrated pp. 580-581 Ugo La Pietra ed., Gio Ponti L’arte si innamora dell’industria , New York, 2009, illustrated p. 51, fig. 119 Giunti Editore, Le collezione Contini Bonacossi, nelle Gallerie degli Uffizi , Florence, 2018, illustrated p. 44 Catalogue Essay The origins of the Contini Bonacossi family’s art collection began with the encounter of Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, later receiving the title of count, and Erminia Vittoria Galli Feroldi. Already a collector and dealer of stamps, Alessandro, when he married Vittoria in 1888, soon turned his focus towards Old Masters. Together, Alessandro and Vittoria travelled to America, where they cultivated important relationships with art collectors and museums, in order to further expand and enrich their collection, all of which was beautifully chronicled in Vittoria’s diaries ‘Diari Americani’. Although from humble origins, through her natural intuition Vittoria developed an incredibly sophisticated eye for identifying exceptional works of art. She soon became an irreplaceable advisor, not only to her husband Alessandro, but also to art critics such as Bernard Berenson and Roberto Longhi. Returning to Italy, they settled in Florence, where they acquired a nineteenth-century villa built by Marquess Massimiliano Strozzi, which Alessandro then renamed Villa Vittoria in honour of his beloved wife. With the priority of accommodating their magnificent art collection, the villa underwent extensive refurbishment under the supervision of Gio Ponti Tomaso Buzzi and Giulio Rosso. The display and placement of the artworks was inspired by the principles of Wilhelm von Bode, the first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, known today as the Bode Museum. Completed in 1927, the house was frequented by art critics, museum directors, painters, writers, and aristocracy. The ground floor retained its original nineteenth-century Neo-Renaissance style, housing their antiques and Old Masters collection, which included works by Giovanni Bellini Gian Lorenzo Bernini Titian, Paolo Veronese Paolo Uccello Tintoretto, El Greco Diego Velazquez, and many others. A token of her devotion, Vittoria kept a notebook with the names and dates of each of the artists in their collection, donating five liras of silver to the church to hold a mass in honour of their anniversaries. The modern art collection, which was Vittoria’s foremost passion, was located on the first floor in the Quadreria moderna (modern picture gallery), and displayed works amongst others by Giorgio de Chirico Giorgio Morandi Marino Marini and Carlo Carrà For the space, which occupied a long hallway, Ponti designed several pieces, comprising six stools, four benches and two tables, adopting a neoclassical style inspired by ancient Rome. Each work was executed by master cabinetmaker Angelo Quarti using walnut, leather, brass and marble. The present lot was one of two low tables that were positioned in the centre of the gallery, each featuring a different coloured marble tabletop, Verde delle Alpi and Rosso Toscano respectively. The brass table legs feature a sculptural quality illustrating Ponti’s desire to create an environment honouring the exceptional quality of the surrounding art collection. Of Ponti’s works from this period, this commission stands out for its exceptional level of execution. In 1943, when Florence was freed by their American allies, General Mark W. Clark and the high command were stationed at the Villa Vittoria. Recalling his stay, General Clark stated: 'It was worth fighting the war to live in this house, to get to know you, for everything ...’ Today Villa Vittoria is Florence’s Congress Palace. As outlined in Contini Bonacossi’s will, part of the collection was donated to the State
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
