Fornasetti Limited Edition White Porcelain, Black and Gold Printed Plates 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.4 in (1 cm)Diameter: 9.06 in (23 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Firenze, IT
- Reference Number:
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and illustrator 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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Firenze, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Pair of 18th Century Hand Painted Multi-Color Porcelain Decorative Dinner PlatesBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Firenze, ITThese two beautiful and antique hand painted multi-colored porcelain dishes date back to 1700. Each plate has shaped rims with molded and trimmed relief, the white porcelain backgro...Category
Antique 18th Century German Rococo Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- 18th Century Italian Capodimonte White Glazez Porcelain Figural CenterpieceLocated in Firenze, ITThis 18th century Italian Capodimonte white glazed porcelain centrepiece is an oustanding sculptural artwork expertly hand carved with finely detailed figurines, putto angels playing...Category
Antique 18th Century Italian Rococo Centerpieces
MaterialsPorcelain
- Italian 19th Century Ginori Glazed and Parcel Gilt Porcelain Armorial VaseBy Carlo GinoriLocated in Firenze, ITThis truly exceptional and rare antique early 19th century Ginori two handles hand-painted porcelain vase is inspired by those that the Medici, Florence's ruling family during the Renaissance, used to put in their homes, gardens and courtyards. The white porcelain background is richly decorated in the round with royal blue and 24-karat parcel-gilt details throughout. A large, completely gilded band decorates the upper and lower part of the vase that features two white and gold fluted handles each with two gold men’s masks finals that join the body of the vase. Two multicolored hand painted coats of arms of a noble Italian family featuring an armor with red, rose, green and yellow feathers and a rampant lion are painted at the very centre among the gold painted foliage both framed by an oval gilt band. The gilding on this stunning neoclassical centrepiece...Category
Antique 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Vases
MaterialsPorcelain
- 1970s Italian Multicolored Glazed Ceramic Shell Centerpiece with Coral and CrabsBy Falco MarinoLocated in Firenze, ITThere is all the Italian artisan mastery in this exceptional Mid-Century Modern open worked large Majolica ornament centerpiece in the form of a long shell enriched with crab, seahorse and red coral perfectly shaped inside it. Looking at this sculpture you will feel the sound of the ocean. Every part of this colorful and powerful handmade marine themed composition is incredibly realistic and well made. The open shell depicted in a palette made of browns, pink, yellow and green contains a big red coral...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Centerpieces
MaterialsCeramic, Majolica
- 18th Century Capodimonte White Glaze Porcelain Statue Male and Female FigurinesBy Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea 1Located in Firenze, ITA pair of late 18th century Naples, real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, white porcelain figures of a lady and a man are hand modeled in the round. This lovely couple of statuettes in the white feature a fruit vendor and a peasant. The man, modelled in a theatrical pose against a tree stump, wears a hat and a scarf. His right hand in his breeches pocket, he is leaning on the tree with his left hand. The woman wears a skirt and a low necked jacket and holds a basket of fruit in her arms, the hair gathered with a bow on her head. This two little statues...Category
Antique 18th Century Italian Rococo Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Capodimonte late 19th Century White Porcelain Group of Male and Female FigurinesBy CapodimonteLocated in Firenze, ITA lovely antique Italian Capodimonte white porcelain biscuit male and female figurines sculptured in the round depicting in a very romantic moment. This centrepiece group features tw...Category
Antique 19th Century Italian Romantic Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astrolabe PlateBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Piero Fornasetti astrolabe plate, Numbered #7 in Series 1960s-mid 1970s. The Piero Fornasetti porcelain plate depicts an astrolabe in a ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate, #14By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate #14, The Keyhole, Atelier Fornasetti The Surreal Fornasetti porcelain plate in the Themes & Variation pattern depicts a keyhole...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate, #286By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate #286, The Binoculars, Atelier Fornasetti The Surreal Fornasetti porcelain plate in the Themes & Variation pattern depicts the f...Category
Late 20th Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Eva / Eve Porcelain Plate # 3, SignedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Kansas City, MOPiero Fornasetti Eva / Eve porcelain dinner plate number 3. Signed. Never used as a dinner plate.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Porcelain Surrealist Themes & Variation Plate, #83By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAFornasetti Porcelain Surrealist Themes & Variation Plate #83, The Light Bulb, Atelier Fornasetti The Surreal Fornasetti porcelain plate in the Themes & Variation pattern depicts the...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Calandar Plate for 1969By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Calendar Plate for the Year 1969, The design of the 1969 Fornasetti porcelain calendar plate depicts a bunch of gr...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain