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.
Diamonds Vase by Aldo Londi
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Milan, IT
This cylindrical vase in white clay is part of a limited edition of 149 pieces designed in 1961 by the then artistic director of Bitossi, Aldo Londi. The irregular surface of the vas...
Ceramic
Mid-Century Modern Bitossi Ceramic Vase by Aldo Londi, Italy, 1950s
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Modern in the Tradition of Good Taste" Large scale Raymor Bitossi Vase by Aldo Londi Yellow and Green Signed on underside: Italy 4675 Retains partial original Raymor paper la...
Pottery, Ceramic, Clay
Aldo Londi for Bitossi Large Vase
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Stunning large vase designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, features a seta design in rare "Lobster" colors. Measures: 16” tall 5” wide.
Ceramic
Aldo londi vase
By Aldo Londi
Located in PARIS, FR
Aldo Londi vase for Bitossi, from the Rimini collection, with its shades of blue shades and its geometric forms
Ceramic
A Rose Bitossi Ceramic Vase by Aldo Londi
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Chicago, IL
Beautiful Rose color Bitossi ceramic vase by Aldo Londi. A fairly rare color to come across.
Ceramic
$317
H 8.27 in W 4.06 in D 2.76 in
Mid-Century Bitossi Vase by Aldo Londi with Pineapple Relief Pattern
By Aldo Londi, Bitossi
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This striking mid-20th-century ceramic vase was designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi and features the iconic pineapple-pattern relief for which Londi’s work is celebrated. Its tall rec...
Ceramic, Pottery
Large Bitossi Ceramic Vase by Aldo Londi
By Aldo Londi, Bitossi
Located in Chicago, IL
Bitossi ceramic vase by Aldo Londi.
Ceramic
Bitossi by Aldo Londi Chamotte Ball Vase, Italy, 1960s
By Aldo Londi, Bitossi
Located in Valencia, VC
Aldo Londi for Bitossi – Ceramic Vase with “Palmetto” Décor, Italy, ca. 1960s Spherical ceramic vase designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, Montelupo Fiorentino. Handcrafted in chamott...
Enamel
Large Rimini Blu Aldo Londi for Bitossi Vase
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful glaze an excellent condition on this large Bitossi vase circa 1980's .
Ceramic
Bitossi Large Ceramic Vase by Aldo Londi, Mid-Century Modern, 1960s
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Valencia, VC
Rare Bitossi for Ceramiche Paoli Large Vase – Mid-Century Neolithic-Inspired Design A striking example of Aldo Londi’s masterful work, this large ceramic vase embodies the timeless influence of Neolithic utility pottery, reinterpreted through Bitossi’s signature craftsmanship. Featuring the iconic sgraffito hand decor, inspired by Etruscan ceramics, this piece is part of the Sahara line, distinguished by its earthy, textured aesthetic. Unlike the standard Bitossi Sahara...
Ceramic, Clay, Earthenware, Majolica, Stoneware
$1,400
H 16 in W 6 in D 4.75 in
Aldo Londi, Ceramic/Pottery Vase by Bitossi, Geometric/Mondrian Pattern
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Nice and elegant ceramic vase by Aldo Londi and made by Bitossi.
Ceramic
$974Sale Price|20% Off
H 13.19 in Dm 4.93 in
Mid-Century Italian Earthenware Flower Vase by Aldo Londi for Bitossi
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in London, GB
Mid-Century Italian earthenware flower vase by Aldo Londi for Bitossi (circa 1950s). An early and rare example of Bitossi by Londi, it presents a rough-textured, mottled, yellowish-g...
Earthenware
Aldo Londi Bitossi Vase, Ceramic, Chartreuse, Signed
By Aldo Londi, Bitossi
Located in New York, NY
Aldo Londi Bitossi vase, ceramic, chartreuse, signed. Medium scale cylinder vase glazed in chartreuse and decorated with hand tooled impressed geometric patterns. Signed in black gla...
Ceramic
Bitossi Ceramic Rimini Blue Designed by Aldo Londi, Italy
By Bitossi, Aldo Londi
Located in Antwerp, BE
Rimini ceramic platter from the Rimini Blue series with beautiful circles decoration designed by Italian designer Aldo Londi for Bitossi 1960s blue glaze and the typical stamp printi...
Ceramic
Small Cross Vase by Karim Rashid
By Karim Rashid, Bitossi
Located in Milan, IT
This striking, multicolored vase in white clay features a mouth in the shape of a cross. The outside of the cross is finished in vivid yellow with an orange top edge, while the interior is in green with a dark bottom. This piece was designed in 2006 by Rashid Karim...
Ceramic