Porcelain Model of a Seated Siamese Cat by Piero Fornasetti
View Similar Items
Porcelain Model of a Seated Siamese Cat by Piero Fornasetti
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 11.82 in (30 cm)Width: 5.91 in (15 cm)Depth: 7.88 in (20 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1980
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Macclesfield, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: f89141603074220623fs
Fornasetti
The Italian artist, illustrator and furniture maker Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative design 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 the 19th-century opera singer Lina 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 desks to dinner plates, lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often surreal 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 his 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 Fornasetti’s collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking a 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.
- Set of Six Petite Plates by Piero FornasettiBy FornasettiLocated in Sagaponack, NYA set of six (6) plates in the original box with designs by Fornasetti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic
$1,800 / set - Rare Piero Fornasetti Tabby Cat Tray, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEA fabulous light-colored and black version of the tromp l’oeil Tabby cat designed by Piero Fornasetti. Originally designed and produced in the mid-1950s as per the Fornasetti catalog...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
MaterialsMetal
- Royal Copenhagen. Porcelain figurine of a white Siamese cat.Located in Copenhagen, DKRoyal Copenhagen. Porcelain figurine of a white Siamese cat. Model number 8/3281. Dating: 1985-1991. Marked. Perfect condition. First factory quality. Dimensions: H 19.5 cm x W 11.0 ...Category
Vintage 1980s Danish Animal Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Danish Porcelain Figurine Siamese Cat by Bing & GrøndahlBy Svend Jespersen, Bing & GrøndahlLocated in Asaa, DKVintage Danish Porcelain figurine Siamese cat by Bing & Grøndahl. Porcelain figurine of a Siamese cat designed by artist Svend Jespersen in t...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Art Nouveau Animal Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti “ Cupole D’ Italia “ Porcelain Gold, 1960, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITN. 7 plate series Cupole s ‘ Italia N.6 diameter 25 cm.. N 1 diameter 30 cm .Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Other Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Finest Quality Rosenthal Germany Siamese Kitten Cat Porcelain FigurineBy RosenthalLocated in Tustin, CAFinest quality, vintage retired, handmade and hand painted in Germany, Rosenthal porcelain Siamese kitten or cat figurine designed by well known deceased German artist, Fritz Heiden...Category
20th Century German Other Animal Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain