Umbrella Stand by Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33.75 in (85.73 cm)Width: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)Depth: 7 in (17.78 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Vintage condition, original paint.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative talents of the 20th century. He crafted an inimitable decorative style from a personal vocabulary of images that included birds, butterflies, hot-air balloons, architecture and — most frequently, and in some 500 variations — an enigmatic woman’s face based on that of Cavalieri. Fornasetti used transfer prints of these images, rendered in the style of engravings, to decorate an endless variety of furnishings and housewares that ranged from chairs, tables and decorative objects to dinner plates, table lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often Surrealist and always fun.
Fornasetti was born in Milan, the son of an accountant, and he lived his entire life in the city. He showed artistic talent as a child and enrolled at Milan’s Brera Academy of Fine Art in 1930, but was expelled after two years for consistently failing to follow his professors’ orders.
A group of Fornasetti's hand-painted silk scarves, displayed in the 1933 Triennale di Milano, caught the eye of the architect and designer Gio Ponti, who, in the 1940s, became the artist's collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking series of desks, bureaus and secretaries that pair Ponti’s signature angular forms with Fornasetti’s decorative motifs — lighthearted arrangements of flowers and birds on some pieces, austere architectural imagery on others. The two worked together on numerous commissions for interiors, though their greatest project has been lost: the first-class lounges and restaurants of the luxury ocean liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Fornasetti furnishings occupy an unusual and compelling niche in the decorative arts: they are odd yet pack a serious punch. They act, essentially, as functional sculpture. A large Fornasetti piece such as a cabinet or a desk can change the character of an entire room; his smaller works have the aesthetic power of a vase of flowers, providing a bright and alluring decorative note. The chimerical, fish-nor-fowl nature of Fornasetti’s work may be its greatest strength. It stands on its own. Bringing the Fornasetti look into the future is Barnaba Fornasetti, who took the reins of the company after his father's death.
Find vintage Piero Fornasetti dinner plates, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Single Armchair, Italy, 1950sLocated in New York, NYOver-upholstered chair with a steeply reclined back, down curved arms and four tapered tinted wooden legs.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
- Vase by Barovier & Toso, Italy, 1950sLocated in New York, NYRoyal blue flask shaped glass vase with clear leaf-like decorations with gold dust inclusions throughout. Signed on the bottom.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Vases
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Dish Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari, Stilnovo, Italy 1950sBy Stilnovo, Gaetano SciolariLocated in New York, NYBlue-green glass textured with an acid-etched whirlpool, encasing an inner translucent shade and suspended from a nickel-finished structure. The original cord is in tact which can ea...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsNickel
- Table Lamp by Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce, Italy, 1950sBy ArteluceLocated in New York, NYTable lamp with a triangular bent brass holding a red painted lamp shade. Original label.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Vase by Arne Bang, Denmark, 1950sBy Arne BangLocated in New York, NYStoneware vessel with two small handles, decorated in a brown glaze.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsStoneware
- Armchair by Carlo Mollino, Italy, 1950-1953By Carlo MollinoLocated in New York, NYA rare armchair, originally from the RAI auditorium in Torino, Italy. We re-upholstered the chair in a fabric close to the original. The brass has been refreshed but shows wear consi...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBrass
- 'Cesto di Dalie' Umbrella Stand by Piero Fornasetti, 1950s Italy, SignedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis rare and highly sought-after collectors item is the 'Cesto di Dalie' umbrella stand by Piero Fornasetti, circa 1950s, signed underneath with a Fornasetti medallion label. This h...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Piero Fornasetti, Umbrella Stand, 1950/60sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Stockholm, SEUmbrella stand with malachite pattern designed by Piero Fornasetti. Italy 1950/60s. Signs of use, botten with smalls signs of rust.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Mid-Century Fornasetti Umbrella Stand - Italy 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Brussels, BEMid-Century Fornasetti Umbrella Stand - Italy 1950sCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Piero Fornasetti ‘Soriano’ Cat Umbrella Stand, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in London, GBA fabulous light-colored version of the tromp l’oeil Tabby cat umbrella stand designed by Piero Fornasetti. Originally designed in the 1950s, this piece is from a more recent, very l...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Early Mid-Century Modern 'Roman Arch' Umbrella Stand by Piero Fornasetti 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEEarly, extremely rare and highly decorative Mid-Century Modern umbrella stand "Roman Arch". Designed by Piero Fornasetti for Fornasetti Milano, Italy, 1950s. Makers mark at the botto...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Mid Century Modern Umbrella Stand by Piero Fornasetti (Attributed) Italy 1950sBy FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEElegant and decorative Mid-Century Modern umbrella stand. Designed probably by Piero Fornasetti, 1950s, Italy. Executed in metal which is enameled in white and gold strips. Condit...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsBrass, Aluminum
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
Celebrating Bernd Goeckler’s Remarkable Eye — and Legacy
The impeccable taste of the late, great New York antiques dealer — who died in December — lives on at his New York gallery, run by his niece and longtime protégé, Katja Hirche.