Tall White and Black Centerpiece by Ettore Sottsass
About the Item
- Creator:Bitossi (Maker),Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.06 in (23 cm)Width: 9.85 in (25 cm)Depth: 9.85 in (25 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:11-12 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:
Ettore Sottsass
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
Bitossi
Like a Fellini movie, the ceramics of the famed Italian company Bitossi Ceramiche embody a creative spectrum that ranges from the playful and earthy to the high-minded and provocative. Based in Florence, Bitossi draws on craft traditions that date back to the 1500s. These find expression in Bitossi pottery that includes artisanal vintage vases and animal figures by the firm’s longtime art director Aldo Londi, as well as the colorful, totemic vessels designed by the high priest of postmodernism, Ettore Sottsass.
Bitossi was incorporated by Guido Bitossi in 1921, though the family began making art pottery in the mid-19th century. In the 1930s, Londi came aboard, bringing with him a mindset that respected time-honored craft, yet looked also to the future. On the one hand, Londi’s perspective fostered the making of Bitossi’s popular whimsical cats, owls, horses and other animal figures, hand-shaped and -carved and finished in a rich azure glaze known as “Rimini Blue.”
But with his other hand, Londi reached out to thoughtful, experimental designers such as Sottsass. After hiring Sottsass to design ceramics for his New York imports company, Raymor, American entrepreneur Irving Richards connected the Milanese design polymath to Londi, who introduced Sottsass to ceramics in the 1950s.
During that decade, some 20 years before he founded the Memphis postmodern design collective in Milan, Sottsass used the Bitossi kilns to create timeless works that manifest both primitive forms and modern geometries. In later decades, Bitossi would welcome new generations of designers, which have included such names as Ginevra Bocini and Karim Rashid.
While always looking forward, Bitossi is firm in their belief that mastery of craft is the first step towards beautiful design. As you will see from the works offered on these pages, that is a winning philosophy.
Find a collection of vintage Bitossi decorative objects, lighting and serveware on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milan, Italy
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Small Black and White Centerpiece by Ettore SottsassBy Bitossi, Ettore SottsassLocated in Milan, ITThis striking centerpiece in white clay has an external finish in black on the base and white on the body, with an internal decoration of fine, parallel black lines over the white fi...Category
2010s Italian Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- Large Green and Red Centrepiece by Ettore SottsassBy Bitossi, Ettore SottsassLocated in Milan, ITThis elegant centerpiece in white clay features a base in dark grey supporting a conic body made of concentric steps that are finished in red on the outside and in vivid matte green ...Category
2010s Italian Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- Black and White Reel Vase by Ettore SottsassBy Bitossi, Ettore SottsassLocated in Milan, ITThis vase's simple shape is complemented by its geometric decoration that features striking motifs in black on the white background of the cylindrical shape. This piece was designed ...Category
2010s Italian Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Chalice Vase by Ettore SottsassBy Bitossi, Ettore SottsassLocated in Milan, ITThis elegant vase was designed by famous Italian architect Ettore Sottsass in 1962. It is in white clay and its geometric shape with a white finish is adorned with a series of parall...Category
2010s Italian Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Large Dove-Gray Centerpiece by Arik Levy GeorgeBy BitossiLocated in Milan, ITConveying timeless elegance using simple lines and subtle colors, this ceramic centerpiece will add a stylish accent on a coffee or dining table in a modern home. This piece from des...Category
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- Black Centerpiece by Arik Levy GeorgeLocated in Milan, ITPart of the 2007 Tribe Collection designed by Arik Levy George, this ceramic centerpiece displays a sharp geometric shape finished with bold colors in a balanced visual aesthetic tha...Category
2010s Italian Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- 20th Century Ettore Sottsass Centerpiece mod Murmansk for Memphis, 1980sBy Ettore Sottsass, Memphis MilanoLocated in Turin, TurinEttore Sottsass grew up in Turin, and graduated in architecture from the Turin Polytechnic in 1939. In 1947, he founded his own studio in Milan. In 1956, Sottsass moved to New York w...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsSilver
- Ettore Sottsass Stand in Gray and Light Blue Glazed Ceramic for Bitossi, 1960sBy Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Brescia , BresciaRenowned for his avant-garde designs, Sottsass has left an indelible mark on the world of art and design, and this exquisite ceramic piece is a testament to his visionary creativity....Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic
- 20th Century Ettore Sottsass RSVP Centerpiece Mod. Celeste in Colored GlassBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Turin, TurinBeautiful vase or centerpiece designed in the beginning of 2000 by the great Italian designer Ettore Sottsass for RSVP. The centerpiece is entirely in colored glass, 10 mm thick. Th...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- 20th Century Ettore Sottsass RSVP Centerpiece Mod. Azzurro in Colored GlassBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Turin, TurinBeautiful vase or centerpiece designed in the beginning of 2000 by the great Italian designer Ettore Sottsass for RSVP. The centerpiece is entirely in colored glass, 10 mm thick. Th...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- 20th Century Ettore Sottsass RSVP Centerpiece Mod. Indigo in Colored GlassBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Turin, TurinBeatiful vase or centerpiece designed in the beginning of 2000 by the great italian designer Ettore Sottsass for RSVP. The centerpiece is entirely in colored glass, 10 mm thick. Th...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- 20th Century Ettore Sottsass RSVP Centerpiece Mod, Rosa in Colored GlassBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Turin, TurinBeatiful vase or centerpiece designed in the beginning of 2000 by the great italian designer Ettore Sottsass for RSVP. The centerpiece is entirely in colored glass, 10 mm thick. Th...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass