Casa Pellandini
Casa Pellandini was a Mexico City-based manufacturer, importer, and retailer of art materials, architectural decoration, stained glass, and luxury objects.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Casa Pellandini was a Mexican art and luxury-goods company established in Mexico City in 1893 by Claudio Pellandini, a Swiss stained-glass artist of Italian origin who had arrived in Mexico in 1860. The business combined importing, retail, manufacturing, and workshop production. Its original showroom and store stood at 2a. Calle de San Francisco No. 10, a site now identified with Madero 33 in Mexico City's historic center, near the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The company served both private consumers and institutional clients, offering decorative objects and materials associated with late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century architecture, interiors, and artistic practice. Its assortment included marble, bronze, and terracotta sculpture; French and Mexican stained glass; lamps; Venetian mirrors; artistic engravings; marble and alabaster busts; frames and moldings; glass; imported wallpaper; porcelain figures; prints and reproductions; planters; artists' materials; engineering supplies; and oil and watercolor paints. This broad range positioned Casa Pellandini not simply as a retailer, but as a supplier of decorative-art goods and technical materials for Mexico's growing urban, governmental, religious, and affluent residential markets. In 1895, two years after opening the showroom, Pellandini established what was described as the country's first large art-supplies factory. The workshops occupied approximately 12,000 square meters at Comonfort 48, on the corner of Jaime Nunó, in the Santa Ana neighborhood of Colonia Morelos. The facility used machinery imported from Europe and the United States and employed about 200 people. Its 27 electric machines were used for operations including beveling, grinding, engraving, and polishing glass. The factory gave Casa Pellandini an industrial production capability unusual for a specialist decorative-arts house of the period. The company's business was closely connected with the Porfirian-era taste for European-inspired luxury and monumental decoration. At the end of the nineteenth century, the French glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain appointed Casa Pellandini its sole representative and depositary in the Mexican Republic, strengthening the company's role in importing and distributing architectural glass. Casa Pellandini products and works were associated with government palaces, the Municipal Hall of Puebla, Chapultepec Castle, churches, residences, and other public buildings. The company's commercial activity continued through the Mexican Revolution without, according to the available historical account, suffering a material interruption. Casa Pellandini also expanded beyond Mexico City. A Guadalajara branch opened in 1901 at premises 43 and 45 on López Cotilla Street. That branch later moved to Avenida Corona 129 by 1946 and to Prisciliano Sánchez 175 by 1971, where it was managed by Otto B. Kiener. The latter address is identified as the branch's last recorded location in Guadalajara. The available material does not establish the date or circumstances of the company's closure, nor does it identify a present-day successor or operating business under the same name. The historical importance of Casa Pellandini also rests on surviving stained-glass works. Pellandini created windows for the facade of the Government Palace of Nuevo León in Monterrey, depicting Mexican national heroes. Seven of those pieces were vandalized during riots at the Plaza de los Héroes on 5 January 2017 and were subsequently transferred to Taller Casa Montaña in Torreón, Coahuila, for restoration. This episode illustrates the continuing cultural significance of work associated with the Casa Pellandini tradition, even though the company's current corporate status is not documented in the available sources.
History
Claudio Pellandini, a Swiss stained-glass artist of Italian origin, arrived in Mexico in 1860. In 1893 he founded Casa Pellandini in Mexico City at 2a. Calle de San Francisco No. 10, now associated with Madero 33 in the city's historic center. The showroom and store sold a wide selection of decorative and artistic goods, including sculpture, stained glass, lamps, mirrors, engravings, busts, frames, moldings, glass, wallpaper, porcelain, prints, planters, artists' materials, engineering supplies, and ornamental objects. The business developed beyond retail. In 1895 Pellandini opened a large art-supplies factory at Comonfort 48, on the corner of Jaime Nunó, in the Santa Ana neighborhood of Colonia Morelos. The workshops covered approximately 12,000 square meters and used machinery imported from Europe and the United States. Around 200 people worked there, operating 27 electric machines for beveling, grinding, engraving, and polishing glass. This manufacturing base helped Casa Pellandini serve major architectural and institutional projects as well as private customers. At the end of the nineteenth century, Saint-Gobain designated Casa Pellandini its sole representative and depositary in Mexico. The company benefited from the Porfirian elite's interest in European-style luxury and decorative arts. Its products and works were installed in the National Palace, state government palaces, the Municipal Hall of Puebla, Chapultepec Castle, churches, residences, and other public buildings. The available account states that the Mexican Revolution did not adversely affect the company's operations or luxury-goods trade. Casa Pellandini expanded to Guadalajara in 1901, opening a branch at 43 and 45 López Cotilla Street in the downtown area. A minor fire occurred there on 14 September 1927. By 1946 the branch had moved to Avenida Corona 129, and by 1971 it operated at Prisciliano Sánchez 175 under the management of Otto B. Kiener. That was the branch's last recorded Guadalajara location. Pellandini's stained-glass legacy remains visible in Mexico's architectural heritage. Windows bearing images of Mexican national heroes were installed in the facade of the Government Palace of Nuevo León in Monterrey. Seven of these works were damaged during unrest at Plaza de los Héroes on 5 January 2017 and sent to Taller Casa Montaña in Torreón, Coahuila, for restoration. Sources provided for this dossier do not document the company's closure date, ownership after the historical period, or a current operating entity.
- 2017
Historic Nuevo León stained glass vandalized
[1]Seven Pellandini stained-glass pieces at the Government Palace of Nuevo León were vandalized during riots and sent for restoration.
- 1971
Last recorded Guadalajara location
[1]The branch was recorded at Prisciliano Sánchez 175 and was managed by Otto B. Kiener.
- 1946
Guadalajara branch moves to Avenida Corona
[1]The Guadalajara operation was recorded at Avenida Corona 129.
- 1927
Fire affects Guadalajara branch
[1]A fire broke out at the Guadalajara branch on 14 September, causing limited consequences according to the available historical account.
- 1901
Guadalajara branch established
[1]Casa Pellandini opened a branch at 43 and 45 López Cotilla Street in downtown Guadalajara.
- 1895
Large art-supplies factory opens
[1]Pellandini established a large factory in Colonia Morelos with imported machinery, approximately 200 employees, and 27 electric glass-processing machines.
- 1893
Casa Pellandini founded in Mexico City
[1]Claudio Pellandini opened the company's showroom and store at 2a. Calle de San Francisco No. 10.
- 1860
Claudio Pellandini arrives in Mexico
[1]The future founder of Casa Pellandini arrived in Mexico, where he later established a stained-glass and decorative-arts business.
Products and positioning
A historically prominent Mexican decorative-arts and art-supplies house combining European imports, domestic manufacturing, stained-glass production, and institutional supply.
Architectural decoration
Architectural stained glass
Casa Pellandini manufactured and imported French and Mexican stained glass for public buildings, religious structures, residences, and government architecture. The company's work included figurative windows, such as the pieces depicting Mexican national heroes installed on the Government Palace of Nuevo León.
Manufacturing · 1895
Glass-processing products and services
The 1895 factory used electric machinery for beveling, grinding, engraving, and polishing glass. This industrial capability supported the production and finishing of decorative and architectural glass at a scale beyond a conventional retail shop.
Decorative arts · 1893
Sculpture and architectural ornament
The company's showroom offered marble, bronze, and terracotta sculptures, marble and alabaster busts, planters, ornamental objects, frames, moldings, and related architectural decoration.
Luxury home decoration · 1893
Interior furnishings and imported luxury goods
Casa Pellandini imported or sold lamps, Venetian mirrors, artistic engravings, wallpaper, porcelain figures, prints, facsimiles, chromos, oleographs, and other decorative goods aimed at prestigious residential and institutional interiors.
Art materials · 1893
Artists' and engineering supplies
The business supplied materials for artists and engineers, including oil and watercolor colors and other workshop or technical supplies. This range complemented its decorative-arts manufacturing and made the company a broader specialist supplier.
Controversies
2017
Vandalism of Pellandini stained-glass works
Seven stained-glass pieces attributed to Claudio Pellandini at the Government Palace of Nuevo León were vandalized during riots at Plaza de los Héroes on 5 January 2017. The pieces were subsequently transferred to Taller Casa Montaña in Torreón for restoration.
Brand decisions
1901
Geographic expansion into GuadalajaraStrategyBackground
Casa Pellandini operated from Mexico City and pursued access to customers in another major Mexican commercial center.
Action taken
The company opened a Guadalajara branch on López Cotilla Street.
Aftermath
The branch remained part of the company's documented operations through several relocations, with its last recorded address in 1971.
1895
Expansion from retail into industrial productionStrategyBackground
After establishing a Mexico City showroom, Casa Pellandini sought greater control over the production and finishing of art and architectural materials.
Action taken
Claudio Pellandini opened a large factory in Colonia Morelos equipped with imported machinery for processing glass and producing art supplies.
Aftermath
The factory employed approximately 200 people and gave the company a substantial manufacturing base for institutional and private projects.
Sources1 sources
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