Angelo Mangiarotti oval marble table model M1 by. Tisettanta, Italy, 1970s

Large oval table in Mondragone marble, model M1, produced by Tisettanta, designed by Angelo Mangiarotti, Italy, 1970s.

Marble, a natural material that has accompanied human history since its dawn. Flint tipped the spears of the hunter-gatherer tribes first called Sapiens. Granite formed the early pagan temples built by men who gazed at the skies with awe and curiosity. The infancy of Western civilization is a forest of columns, pediments, and capitals that entrusted marble with the preservation of collective memory.

The starting material chosen for this table is among the noblest of its kind: Mondragone marble. Selected by Luigi Vanvitelli for the construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta—an edifice of such luxury and magnificence that it served as inspiration for Versailles—the quarries of this regal marble are located in Campania, between the Gulf of Gaeta and Pozzuoli.

It took a name like Angelo Mangiarotti to imbue such a solid marble table with a sense of lightness in its design. A perfect balance of form, function, and the intrinsic qualities of the material was achieved, thanks to Mangiarotti’s dual expertise as an urban planner and designer. His hallmark use of curved lines is evident not only in furniture but also in architectural works such as the “Three Cylinders House” in Milan's Via Gavirate and the five train stations he designed in the Lombardy region, where parabolic forms dominate.

The table presented here embodies these same qualities, with its curves, rounded edges, and complete absence of sharp corners. Its unusual oval shape classifies it as a unique piece within the M1 series, the result of a specific commission for the designer and the Tisettanta company.

The tabletop’s proportions are strikingly harmonious, resting on two conical columns positioned at the focal points of the ellipse. The surface comes alive with the natural decorative texture of Mondragone marble, boasting a profound color palette that blends shades of green and gold in an exquisite harmony shaped by the inscrutable forces of nature and time.

Suspended between architecture, history, and geological rarity, this table manages to convey a sense of lightness through its design and an enduring feeling of timeless beauty through the uniqueness of its material.

Dimensions: 200W x 110D x 72H cm