"Menta Totem" by Ettore Sottsass, Bitossi for Mirabili
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"Menta Totem" by Ettore Sottsass, Bitossi for Mirabili
About the Item
- Creator:Ettore Sottsass (Designer),Bitossi (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 82 in (208.28 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1985
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU105705026693
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.
- Ettore Sottsass Le Connessioni Vase from the Ruins Series by Bitossi Italy, 1992By Bitossi, Ettore SottsassLocated in Kansas City, MOLe Connessioni vase from the Ruins series by Ettore and made by Bitossi for Design Gallery Milano, Italy, 1992. Glazed stoneware. Signed to underside 'Ettore Sottsass 1992 3/9 Bitoss...Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Vases
MaterialsStoneware
- Ettore Sottsass Floor Vases from 27 Woods for a Chinese Artificial Flower, PairBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Kansas City, MOTwo large vases made of burl wood, black and brass designed by Ettore Sottsass for his "27 woods for a Chinese Artificial flower" series. Each of the 27 different vases were made in an edition of 12. These are Numbers 3 and 9 of the twelve "I" editions. Each is signed with applied manufacturers label, "Design Gallery, Milano, Ettore Sottsass, 1995, Made in Italy" with the edition number. Price is for the pair. Condition: Both are in very good vintage condition. No chips, dents or significant scratches. Both retain the original heavy brass vase insert...Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Vases
MaterialsBrass
- Ashoka Large Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in Kansas City, MOAshoka lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Milano, 1981. Excellent condition.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Set of Six Mandarin Dining Chairs by Ettore Sottsass for KnollBy Knoll, Ettore SottsassLocated in Kansas City, MOSet of six dining chairs designed by Ettore Sottsass, the founder of the Memphis Group, Milan, Italy. These chairs are in very good completely original condition. Super sturdy constr...Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Barbarella Writing Desk / Secretary by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, 1966/1985By Ettore Sottsass, PoltronovaLocated in Kansas City, MOEttore Sottsass Barbarella cabinet for Poltronova, Italy. Designed in 1966, produced in 1985. The cabinet features three drawers over a drop-front ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Secretaires
MaterialsBrass
- Ettore Sottsass Umbrella Stand for Rinovel, 1955By Ettore SottsassLocated in Kansas City, MORare Ettore Sottsass umbrella stand for Rinovel, Italy, 1955. Quick shipping in the continental U.S. via FedEx, $175.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsAluminum
- Ceramic Footed Centrepiece by Ettore Sottsass for BitossiBy Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Brisbane, QLDA modern made hand turned red clay bowl by Bitossi of Italy in a design by Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007). The hand crafted piece has been finished in a two tone matte white and indigo ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsClay
- Small Ceramic Vase by Ettore Sottsass for Bitossi, 1959By Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLA small ceramic vase or bottle with green and purple pinstripe glaze designed by Ettore Sottsass for Bitossi. Aquired from the Miami estate...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Contemporary Art TOTEM Odalisca Yellow Black White PA by Ettore SottsassBy Ettore Sottsass, MirabiliLocated in Pistoia, ITLimited rdition of 29 pieces. These ceramic columns evoke Totems and Menhir, ancient architectures or imaginary archetypes, among timeless sacredness and contemporary irony.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic, Wood
- Contemporary Art Ceramic Totem Chocolate Piece Number 33/99 by Ettore SottsassBy Ettore Sottsass, MirabiliLocated in Pistoia, ITThe message that Mirabili intends to portay involves well-known artist and designers, selected for their particular gifts and their poetic world, lending an innovative and sensitive ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic, Wood
- Contemporary Art TOTEM Clair De Lune Light Blue White N/Edit. by Ettore SottsassBy Ettore Sottsass, MirabiliLocated in Pistoia, ITLimited edition of 29 pieces. From Primitive clay magma, by playing with shapes, Sottsass makes the “philosophy” of a state of mind visible and concrete: as if in the musical atmosph...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic, Wood
- Telephone Enorme designed by Ettore Sottsass for Brondi, 1986By Ettore SottsassLocated in FERROL, ESTelephone Enorme designed by Ettore Sottsass for Brondi, 1986. Included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Retains the original RJ11 cable. Working ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsPlastic
$600 Sale Price30% Off