Eight Vintage Piero Fornasetti Musicalia Coasters
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)Width: 4 in (10.16 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 8
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1965
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Six of the coasters have very little wear, a seventh coaster has some wear to the black outlines, an eighth coaster moderate gilt loss. All the coasters have some factory roughness around the edges and some black paint and gilt specks under coasters.
- Seller Location:Doraville, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7961238271552
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: Doraville, GA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Vintage Enameled Metal / Wood Drawer Piero Fornasetti BoxBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Doraville, GAA vintage enameled metal box with a slide out wooden drawer. The box was designed by Piero Fornasetti in the 1950's / 1960's and is listed in th...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage Lidded Wooden Box with Brass Hinges by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Doraville, GAA vintage box with a brass hinged lid. The box was designed by Piero Fornasetti in the 1950s / 1960s. The box is composed of what appears to be a mahogany dovetailed wooden box, bras...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- White and Gold "Piede Romano" Roman Left Foot by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Doraville, GAA porceline "Piede Romano" or a left Roman foot in white with gold accents designed by Piero Fornasetti. The foot has an earlier Fornasetti insigna on the...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Three Wedgwood Bone China Nautilus Collection ShellsBy WedgwoodLocated in Doraville, GAThree beautiful bone china gloss white glazed shells by Wedgwood. The shell designs were part of the "Nautilus Collection" and the pieces were made in England. The half shell measure...Category
Late 20th Century English American Classical Ceramics
MaterialsPorcelain
- Two Vintage Harvey Probber BenchesBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Doraville, GAA pair of vintage benches designed by Harvey Probber for his own manufacturing company in 1955, the benches are in his catalog and are model nu...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Benches
MaterialsFabric, Mahogany
- Vintage Venini Egg Designed by Tapio WirkkalaBy Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Doraville, GAA vintage transparent glass egg with a gold leaf yoke. Tapio Wirkkala was well know by Venini since the 1950s due to Wirkkala's inclusion in the Venice Biennale's, Wirkkala joined Venini in 1964, the egg was designed in 1968 and manufactured until sometime after this date. The egg was illustrated in the 1969 Venini catalog, page 16...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsGold Leaf
- Piero Fornasetti set of eight Monkeys ceramic coasters, Italy 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milan, ITPiero Fornasetti set of eight Monkeys ceramic coasters, From the "Ne sont tous chevaliers qui sur cheval montent" series Italy 1950s Original box.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti Ceramic Set Neo-Classical Mythological Gold Coasters MitologiaBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti ceramic complete set of neo-classical gold coasters, Mitologia Pattern, Mythology Pattern, 1950s Measures: Diameter 4 1/8 inches x...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Barware
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti N 8 Coaster Ceramic 1950By FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITFornasetti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti Pin Tray or AshtrayBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Ceramic Pin Tray or Ashtray, 1950s-60s, This rectangular ceramic tray features raised sides and a playful design by Piero Fornasetti. Two contrasting hearts, one ye...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornesetti Coasters, Emblems of the StatesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Riverdale, NYPiero Fornesetti's 8 piece coaster set with the emblems of various states in the US. Gilt decorated with lithographs of states emblems. Midcentury, Si...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Fornasetti Ceramic Bar Coasters 'Vini e Liquori'By Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYCocktail Fornasetti Time! Fabulous complete set of 8 spirits and wine coasters including Whisky, Rum, Port, Brandy, Sherry, Rhenish, Gin and Madeira called 'Vini e Liquori'. A vintage classic and perfect for entertaining. Note with lighting some of the golds vary however they are all consistent color of a nice gilt but lighting creates...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Barware
MaterialsCeramic