What is perhaps most impressive about the work of Piero Fornasetti is that it, no matter how often it is celebrated by the design world, it remains strikingly imaginative and surprising. This is in no small part because Fornasetti designed a seemingly infinite number of everyday objects for the home, both big and small, sporting playful motifs and patterns that spoke of individuality and modernity. Some of the best expressions of his mischievous approach are his trompe l’oeil umbrella stands.
Produced from the 1950s to the 1970s, these clever household items presented an ideal foundation for creative experimentation. Fornasetti designed 40 unique trompe l’oeil umbrella stands, suited to different personalities, interests and even intellectual pursuits. For the traveler, there were piles of leather suitcases; for the scholar, groups of vases and busts from classical antiquity; and for the artistically inclined, medleys of instruments as well as sketchbooks and palettes. But perhaps most charming were the 12 designs dedicated to man’s best friend: the dog. Fornasetti created versions in the form of canines distinct in both looks and personality, including the Alsatian, the Labrador and the boxer. The most glamorous breed featured, however, may be the Afghan hound, the model for this circa 1955 Levriero Afgano umbrella stand, offered on 1stDibs by London-based seller Cupio Gallery.
“I really love Piero Fornasetti’s trompe l’oeil umbrella stands, particularly the dog examples, not just because I am a lover of dogs but because the scale of his subject is remarkably close to the actual size of our real-life canines,” says Cupio Gallery founder Matthew Moreton. “These proportions, combined with the subtle curve on the calendered-metal sheet, give it an almost realistic, three-dimensional quality.”
Each stand was cut from sheet metal, gently curved into the desired shape and attached to a metal support with a ring to hold the umbrellas and a basin to catch water. It is easy to read a touch of Fornasetti’s trademark mischief in the design, with the trompe l’oeil dog acting as both a companion and quite literal stand-in for its owner, through a playful nod to the anthropomorphic qualities of the hound and the lifestyle shared with its human.
In pop culture, the Afghan hound is almost always presented as a she with understated elegance, a quiet sense of self and an aristocratic lineage. Her trademark quality is her long glamorous hair, impeccably groomed unless she’s had damsel-in-distress moment — or been caught in the rain.
“Of all of Piero’s dog designs, the Afghan hound (Levriero Afgano) remains my favorite,” Moreton says. “I just love the detailing on the long hair and the over-size gold chain. I think he must have also loved this one too, as there’s a wonderful picture of him sitting at the entrance to his studio in Milan with an identical umbrella stand taking center stage in the foreground.”
There’s something so intangibly special about this beautiful and chic hound sitting faithfully near her owner. Quietly reserved but somehow quite animated, she sits eagerly anticipating the arrival of companions who will undoubtedly be delighted to greet her. It is this effortless sense of joy that makes Fornasetti’s designs so wonderful. Just when you least expect it, he’s made you fall in love with an umbrella stand.
