Important Gio Ponti Cabinet, Villa Namazee Commission
Artist/Designer: Gio Ponti (Italian, 1891-1979); Giordano Chiesa
Additional Information: Geometric cabinet/credenza rests on two star-shaped feet. It is finished on both sides, with doors hinged to allow configurations revealing or concealing the drawers. One side has a door on each end revealing four shelves each and the other has two doors revealing eight drawers. According to Tehran Projects, Villa Namazee was designed in 1957-1964 by Gio Ponti in collaboration with Fausto Melotti and Paolo De Poli. Photos of the villa include an interior reception room and balcony echoing the geometric lines, convertible design and two-tone finish of the cabinet. Provenance: Villa Namazee (Shafi and Vida Namazee), Tehran, Iran | Private Collection, New York, New York. Item is accompanied by the original certificate issued by Matteo Licitra, Independent Gio Ponti Archives, dated 11.29.2019, placing the cabinet on the first floor interior balcony room. Reference with additional photos and architectural plans: tehranprojects.com/villa-namazee-tehran. Gio Ponti’s nephew Matteo Licitra is an architect and designer as well as an artist and musician. He has produced numerous writings, lectures, seminars studying and promoting his uncle’s work worldwide, including publishing the Chinese language edition of the catalogue raisonne – Gio Ponti: The Complete Work, 1923-1978. Matteo Licitra worked closely with his mother and curator of the Ponti archives, Lisa Licitra Ponti, until her death in 2019. He then established the Independent Gio Ponti Archives with its own protocol for authentication.
Marking(s); notes: Documento Autentico XA00005573 label
Country of origin; materials: Italy; poplar, beech, steel
Dimensions: 29.5″h, 88″w, 27.5″d
Condition: good, patina to metal, surface nicks and scratches, craquelure to painted finish, wear consistent with age and light/moderate use
Price: $95,000 (SOLD)