GAETANO SCIOLARI, Pair of Hollywood Regency wall lights sconces, chromed steel & gilded brass, ca 1970

Magnificent and very rare pair of GAETANO SCIOLARI sconces.
Gaetano Sciolari (1927-1994) was an Italian designer born into a family whose father ran a lighting production company. He obtained a degree in architecture and then moved into film directing. However, in 1949, on the death of his father, he took over the management of the family business, which he propelled to international prominence in just a few years. He became the first Italian manufacturer to import lighting fixtures into the United States, as well as one of the biggest importers. He worked for major companies such as Lightolier, Stilnovo and Stilkronen. He is also the founder and first president of the Italian Professional Association of Lighting Fixture Manufacturers. When Sciolari entered the lighting market in the 1950s, Italian design was booming. Major industrial houses, such as Stilnovo, called on avant-garde designers to create pieces that would become icons of international design. Italy showed a taste for experimentation in light manufacturing: designers created whimsical, colorful lamps, usually in copper, brass or enamelled metal, with geometric lines influenced by contemporary sculpture.