Guido Andlovitz Folk Art

Originally designed by architect, designer and artistic director Guido Andlovitz in 1936 for Società Ceramica Italiana Laveno, this pair of vases are indeed the rarest of finds. The vases were manufactured in 1942, as attested to by the marking "N - 42" on the base of each vase. The gold rims and aquatic scenes that surround each vase, are unique to each piece and were painted by hand in 1943. They are both signed by the artist "Miruccia". One of the vases has the words “Anni di Guerra” (Year of War) written on the base in reference to the Second World War . Founded in Laveno in 1856 by Severino Revelli and some former employees of the "Richard" manufacturer in Milan. The "SCI" (Italian Ceramic Society) began its activity as a manufacturer of wall tiles and fine tableware. In 1883 it became a limited company and obtained its first successes at numerous national exhibitions. In 1895, Cavalier Luciano Scotti took over the company and, thanks to his intuition and his entrepreneurial skills, the factory grew substantially in a few years. In those years, some Liberty-style pieces designed by Giorgio Spertini, the author of noteworthy elegant "whiplash" creations, were created in the Laveno factory. In 1906 "SCI" presented numerous works at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Milan. Other collaborators from the beginning of the century were Silvio and Piero De Ambrosis, Felice Palucco, Giancarlo Jacopini and the brothers Marco and Luigi Raggiori. However, it was in 1923 that, under the direction of Guido Andlovitz, the company reached the peak of its fame and in 1925 was a resounding success at the 2nd Monza Biennale. Andlovitz, who collaborated with the manufacturer for almost forty years, applied to the production process the principle of seriality, a concept also put into effect by Giò Ponti at "Richard-Ginori", adopting various types of decoration which, although moulded and decal stamped, still retained an undeniable elegance. In 1924 the "Società Ceramica Revelli" became a consortium with the "SCI", the partnership would continue until 1932 and saw Franco Revelli's company marketing pottery and table porcelain on behalf of "SCI". From 1925 porcelain and crockery began to appear in the factory's catalogs. In 1927 the company was present at the 3rd Biennial of Decorative Arts in Monza. Between the end of the 1920's and the beginning of the 1930's, the decorators Giuseppe Bellorini and Daniela Ferretto began to collaborate with the "SCI". As of 1932 the company managed two factories: that of Laveno, which, with over 1300 employees, produced strong pottery, tableware and artistic ceramics and the smaller factory of Verbano, which employed about 400 people and produced, in addition to ceramics for the electrotechnical industry, excellent table porcelain. The products were marketed in the company owned stores in Rome, Genoa and Naples. This was an initiative realised by Andlovitz himself. In the mid-thirties, the decorators Ada Corsi and Ida Fonini among others, collaborated with the "SCI". From 1936 to 1940 the artistic direction of the company was entrusted to the sculptor and modeler Angelo Biancini. In 1939 about 1300 people worked in the Laveno plant and in 1951 about 2300. In the years between the two wars among the collaborators of the factory were Sirio Tofanari...