Table Lamp model "Limante"
Manufactured by Vistosi
Italy, ca. 1970
Opaline Murano glass with colored glass base and accents
Measurements
34 x 34 x 40h cm
13.4 x 13.4 x 15.7h in
Provenance
Private collection
Literature
Catalogo originale produzione Vistosi, p. 23.
About
Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Vistosi around 1970, the Limante table lamp exemplifies the designer’s exploration of glass as an expressive medium. The piece combines white opaline Murano glass with vivid colored elements that create a play of transparency and reflection, characteristic of Sottsass’s poetic approach to form and light. Moving away from pure functionalism, the lamp embodies the sensual and sculptural qualities that define his work from this period — a dialogue between craftsmanship, materiality, and the emotional resonance of objects.
Biography
Ettore Sottsass (Italian, 1917–2007) was an architect and designer regarded as one of the most influential figures in postwar Italian design. Born in Innsbruck and educated at the Politecnico di Torino, he founded his own studio in Milan after World War II. In 1958, he began a long collaboration with Olivetti as design consultant, creating iconic works such as the Elea 9003 computer and the Valentine typewriter. His designs sought to transcend functionalism, introducing emotional and symbolic dimensions into everyday objects.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Sottsass explored color, material, and form in collaboration with major Italian manufacturers, including Vistosi, Poltronova, and Bitossi. His experimentation laid the groundwork for the Anti-Design movement, which questioned modernist conventions and consumer culture.
In 1981, he founded the Memphis Group, whose radical use of color and geometry became emblematic of postmodern design. Later, through his firm Sottsass Associati, he extended his work to architecture and large-scale projects. His creations are held in major museum collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Design Museum in London. Sottsass received numerous international honors before his death in Milan in 2007.
