Lino Sabattini was the preeminent figure in modern Italian silver and metalware design. His expansive and diverse body of work is marked by its strength and boldness, whether in dynamic forms that suggest the thrust and power of Italian Futurist art and design or light and curvaceous biomorphic serveware and decorative objects.
Sabattini was largely self-taught as a designer. Born in the northern Italian town of Correggio, he learned metalsmithing techniques while working in the studio of a maker of brass tableware. He also served as an apprentice of sorts to the expatriate German ceramist Roland Hettner, who taught Sabattini about fluidity of form and showed him how shapes derive from the behavior of materials.
At age 30, Sabattini opened a studio in Milan, and his work quickly came to the attention of Gio Ponti, who decided to publish it in Domus, the Italian design legend's influential design and architecture magazine. Ponti also arranged for Sabattini’s creations to be included in a 1956 exhibition of contemporary Italian design in Paris. The principals of Christofle, the revered French silverware maker, were so impressed that they hired the young designer as the firm’s artistic director, a post he held until 1963. Sabattini, who would also go on to design ceramic wares for Rosenthal, returned home to open Argenteria Sabattini in Bregnano, a company still in business today.
A designer with a questing curiosity and ever-evolving aesthetic sensibility, Sabattini couldn’t be pinned down to one particular style. His best-known work, the Como coffee and tea service of 1956, has an elegant, attenuated and energetic form; his Stairs coffee and tea service (1971), meanwhile, is a clever group of simple columnar shapes in stepped heights, which nest together in a compact arrangement. Other Sabattini pieces have dramatic angles, or sweeping, wing-like flourishes, or consist of perforated ovoids somehow reminiscent of sculptures by Brancusi. In any style, Sabattini produced objects of singular fascination.
Find a range of vintage Lino Sabattini vases and other decorative objects on 1stDibs.
Brown Murano Glass Table Lamp by Sabattini and Diaz de Santillana for VeArt
By Lino Sabattini, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, VeArt
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Italy in 1970s. It features a chrome-plated metal base with holes and a brown etched blown glass lampshade. It has been replated and rewired. This is a vintage piece, there...
Metal, Chrome
Lino Sabattini Silver Plated Table Lamp by Christofle, France
By Lino Sabattini
Located in Den Haag, NL
Lino Sabattini silver plated table lamp by Christofle, France. Silver plated tube with Perspex middle section.
Silver Plate
Lino Sabattini Table Lamp by Christofle, Silver Plate, 1960s Italy
By Christofle, Lino Sabattini
Located in Byron Bay, NSW
Lino Sabattini Silver Plated Table Lamp by Christofle, France 1960s. Silver plated tube with Perspex middle section.
Silver Plate
$3,142
H 16.54 in Dm 12.21 in
"Febo" Table Lamp, Red Marble and Murano Glass by Pamio & Toso for Leucos, 1970s
By Leucos, Roberto Pamio & Renato Toso
Located in Roma, IT
Spectacular "Febo" Table lamp in solid red Verona marble, brass and a stunning shade in mouth-blown Murano glass. This incredibly rare lamp was designed by Roberto Pamio & Renato Tos...
Marble, Metal, Brass
Large Gatto Beige Cocoon Table Lamps by Castiglioni for Flos, Italy 1960s
By Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Roma, IT
Magnificent first edition large Gatto cocoon table lamps designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and produced by Flos in Italy during the 1960s. The lamps are signed inside....
Metal
1960s French Ceramic Table Lamp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage ceramic lamp from Vallauris, France, 1960's. Glazed ceramic base and handle in light grey coloring. Lovely circular appliqué details on handle and neck. Newly rewired with ne...
Ceramic, Linen
Italian Vintage Chrome Lamp, 1960s
Located in Paris, FR
A 20th century Italian vintage tubular chrome table or desk lamp circa 1960s. ---------- We are an exhibition space and an online destination established by Jonathan Amar Studio. Al...
Chrome
Midcentury Wicker and Rattan Italian Table Lamp, 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Amazing midcentury wicker and rattan table lamp. This fantastic piece was designed in Italy during the 1960s. Having a wicker lampshade, the light diffusion is incredibly warm and...
Bamboo, Wicker, Straw, Rattan
20th Century Pair of Silver Plated Flower Lamps, Spain, 1960s
By Valmazan
Located in Paris, FR
20th Century vintage pair of silver plated, 1960s table lamps with flower designs of exceptional craftsmanship. Marked by Spanish silverware makers ...
Aluminum, Silver
$1,485
H 15.75 in Dm 15.75 in
Ludovico Diaz de Santillana for Venini "Anemone" Table Lamp, Italy, 1970s
By Venini, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana
Located in Naples, IT
Anemone blown glass table lamp designed by Ludovico Diaz de Santillana for Murano glass specialist Venini in the 1970s. The elegant design that seems to have been inspired by sea an...
Murano Glass
$1,800
H 9.45 in W 16.74 in D 5.91 in
1980s Murano Glass Dimmable Table Lamp by Oriano Favaretto for De Majo
By Oriano Favaretto, De Majo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning 1980s Italian table lamp designed by Oriano Favaretto for De Majo, Murano, showcasing the exceptional artistry of Venetian glassmaking and the bold geometric elegance of Ita...
Metal
$1,714
H 14.97 in Dm 9.06 in
Tulip Beige Cocoon Table Lamp with Brass Base by Castiglioni, Italy, 1960s
By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Roma, IT
Stunning and truly unique floral Cocoon table lamp with a metal and brass structure. This delightful piece was designed by the mastery of Castiglioni and produced in Italy during the...
Metal, Brass
Pair Christofle Silver Candlestick Lamps
By Christofle
Located in New York, NY
Pair Christofle silver candlestick lamps. Vintage Christofle boudoir/dressing table or dining table lamps in a subtle dot or strawberry seed p...
Silver
$1,542
H 7.49 in Dm 14.18 in
"Medusa" Table Lamp in Pearlescent Murano Glass by Nason for Leucos, Italy 1960s
By Leucos, Carlo Nason
Located in Roma, IT
Marvelous "Medusa" table lamp in mouth blown pearlescent Murano glass designed by Carlo Nason and produced by Leucos in Italy during the 1970s. The lamp is in fabulous condition and...
Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Mid-Century Castiglioni Cocoon Table Lamp with Wood Base, Italy 1960s
By Flos, Achille Castiglioni
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful and unique cocoon table lamp with a marvelous beige patina and a marbled finish. This stylish lamp was designed by Castiglioni and produced in Italy during the 1960s. In a...
Metal
$911
H 14.18 in Dm 13.39 in
"Sphere" Table Lamp by L. Diaz De Santillana for Venini, "Tessuti" series 1970s
By Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, Venini
Located in Palermo, IT
Sphere table lamp by L. Diaz De Santillana for Venini "Tessuti" series 1970s Glass diameter 34 cm. Metal structure, E27 lamp. Complete and in good condition. We guarantee fast shipp...
Metal
Pair of Silver Plated Table Lamps
Located in New York, NY
Pair of 1940s English silver plated table lamps, neoclassic style. Measurements: 17" height of body 27" height to rest of shade.
Diaz de Santillana Ludovico Table Lamp, 1970s
By Alessandro Diaz de Santillana
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Diaz de Santillana Ludovico table lamp, 1970s.
Metal
Sold
H 15.36 in Dm 3.35 in
20th Century Lino Sabattini Pair of Table Lamps in Silver for Christofle, 70s
By Lino Sabattini, Christofle
Located in Torino, Piemonte
Lino Sabattini was an Italian artist. He worked at a brassware store, where he also learned metalworking techniques. At the age of 30 he moved to Milan, where he opened a small works...
Metal
1960s Massimo Vignelli Glass Mid-Century Modern Pendant Lamp for Venini
By Lino Sabattini, Massimo Vignelli, Venini
Located in Reggio Emilia, IT
1960s pendant lamp composed by three lights “onion-shape” diffusers made by opalescent glass, dove-gray color, designed by Massimo Vignelli, corresponding to the Venini’s design n°40...
Brass
Pair of 1960's Italian Chrome Plated Sconces by Sabattini
By Lino Sabattini
Located in Queens, NY
Designed by Italian artist Lino Sabattini (b.1925), this pair of mid-century left and right chrome plated wall sconces each features an arrang...
Chrome