GIO PONTI (1891-1979)

" I leaned it from Adolf Loos, the great pioneering Austrian architect. He used to tell me that the foot and the leg of a chair, or any piece of furniture, must always be "a little too thin," a spire always "a little too high", a bridge always "a little to tense". Always a challenge , always a success. This is the lesson of the obelisk, which is a crystal" Here in his own words, Ponti reveals some of the complex thought processes behind his design methodology - one involving a modernist formalism tinged with historical hints, humor and poetics.

Cassina produced this unique piece for a client in Florence while Ponti was still basking in the success of the now famous superleggera chair of 1957. While a futuristic drive towards weightlessness was a guiding principle in planning this table's architecture, its top recalls the Pirelli building's ground plan, which in turn relates to ancient multifaceted building types.

This lot is sold with a certificate of authenticity from the Gio Ponti Archive.

We would like to thank Brian Kish for his assistance with the cataloguing of and notes for this lot.