an obsession with sciolari

This all began with a light I missed at auction.  It was a huge opaque white and amber ice glass chandelier, ugly but good ugly and I had never seen anything like it before.  I googled "ice glass chandelier" and before I knew it I was smitten with mid century modern chandeliers.  

| Gaetano Sciolari Cubic on 1stdibs |70's Gaetano chandelier on 1stdibs |  

I missed the light, I bid a top of $500 and looking back I could have paid triple and still had a bargain, it went for $550.  (Muffled screams of frustration).  I didn't win the auction but I certainly caught the bug: Kalmar the king of ice glass chandeliers; and Sciolari's timeless classics.

|Mid century brass & lucite chandelier |Sciolari used in a modern kitchen on the Marion House Book |

I can't understand why these have not been brought back into production.  I would happily buy a replica.  The pieces are sculptural, much more interesting than the majority of modern and expensive offerings out there.

| Over a dining table via Inspired Design| Brass chandelier via liveaucutioneers | 

Unfortunately I am not alone in my obsession and these lovely pieces are expensive to buy, probably around $3,500 upwards for a good one.  When you think how sculptural they are, and how unique, that is not as extravagant as it sounds.  A a good painting will cost you at least that.

| Ceiling mounted fixture in chrome |

Gaetano Sciolari designed these amazing modernist masterpieces from the 50's to the 70's, working with large lighting firms like Stilnovo (Milan) and Lightolier (New York) before starting to manufacture his own line.

So here I am trawling the web for a forgotten bargain, like the one I missed out on.  Do you have a treasure you hunt for?  Oh well, happy hunting...