Joe Colombo (1930-1971) Italian, (6) "Asimmetrico" Glasses for Riedel. A set of 6 "Asimmetrico" drinking glasses designed by Joe Colombo for Riedel Austria in 1964. The unique stem shape was created specifically to allow holding both the glass and a cigarette simultaneously. These mid-century modern glasses feature a clear, hand-blown design with a smoky foot. Marked on undersides.
Size: 4 1/2 x 2 in.
Before transitioning to industrial design, Italian modernist Cesare “Joe” Colombo (1930-1971) studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, actively participating in the avant-garde Movimento Nucleare and Art Concret groups. Following a stint managing his family’s electric appliance business in 1959, he opened his own interior design studio in 1962 and began collaborating with prominent brands like Kartell, Alessi, and Boffi, gaining international acclaim after his collaboration with Austrian company Riedel to produce the iconic “Asimmetrico” smoking glass. Colombo became a pioneer in the use of new materials, famously designing the Universale stacking chair molded entirely from ABS plastic and the iconic fiberglass Elda armchair. Driven by a passion for modularity and variability, he engineered highly flexible furniture systems like the Tube chair, which could be reconfigured into various sitting positions, and pushed the boundaries of domestic space by designing futuristic, self-contained “living machines” such as the Kitchen-Box on wheels and the Total Furnishing Unit, which packed a kitchen, bed, bathroom, and wardrobe into just over 300 square feet. His brilliant career was tragically cut short when he died of a heart attack on his 41st birthday, but his visionary, space-age designs continue to be celebrated in prestigious institutions like the Museum of Modern Art.
Tiroler Glashütte GmbH, globally recognized as Riedel, is a prominent Austrian glassware manufacturer based in Kufstein that is celebrated as the world’s oldest family-owned crystal glass brand. The family originally established their glassworks in Bohemia in 1756, where 19th Century industrialist Josef Riedel vastly expanded the empire into luxury hollow glass, invented uranium glass, and earned the title “Glass King of the Iser Mountains.” Under subsequent generations, the company continued to thrive on technical innovation, introducing automated bead-cutting machinery, manufacturing optical lenses for lighthouses, and pioneering early electric glass lampshades. However, the aftermath of World War II brought severe devastation, when the family was completely dispossessed of their Bohemian factories and properties, but Walter Riedel and his son Claus re-established the legacy in 1957 by acquiring a new glassworks facility in Kufstein, Austria. Today the legendary company is managed by the ninth and tenth generations, Georg and Maximilian Riedel, and is internationally renowned for creating specialized glassware designed to enhance different types of wine.
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