Gio Ponti
1891–1979
The architect, editor and teacher who set the terms of Italian design for fifty years, and made a chair light enough to lift with one finger.
1928–2013
Paris Match photographer who spent twenty years shooting Monroe and Picasso, then designed the chrome and brass furniture his own set wanted.
Why they matter
Rizzo was born in Naples in 1928 and was photographing professionally as a teenager. He covered the first Cannes festival, went to the United States for the Blackstar agency in 1947, and joined Paris Match in 1948, where he stayed two decades photographing Marilyn Monroe, Picasso, Dalí, Bardot and Coco Chanel.
The furniture began as pieces for his own apartment and turned into a business. From 1972 he produced through the Italian firm Mario Sabot, and also through Cidue: coffee and cocktail tables in chrome and brass, stainless steel dining tables, burl veneers, smoked glass, the occasional built-in ice bucket.
It is furniture made by someone who knew exactly what the rooms in those photographs looked like. Chrome from this period pits, and the brass wants tarnish rather than polish.
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Key forms & materials
Forms
- Chrome coffee table
- Stainless steel dining table
- Bar table
- Burl and chrome side table
- Chrome lounge chair
Materials
- Chromed steel
- Brass
- Stainless steel
- Smoked glass
- Burl veneer
What to look for
Marks, editions, patina and production partners — fact-checked for this designer.
- Mario Sabot produced his tables from 1972 and Cidue also made pieces through the 1970s, and a surviving manufacturer label is the best evidence available.
- No signature or stamp convention is documented for this work, so provenance and construction carry the attribution.
- Chrome of this period pits from the inside out and cannot be corrected without replating, which changes the surface, so assess it before bidding.
- Model names circulate loosely in the trade and some appear to be dealer inventions, so check any named model against a period catalogue.
Past Circa results
Search all Willy Rizzo results- $3,600
- $2,700
- $2,200
- $1,600
- $600
- $1,300
- $800
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