Piero Fornasetti Plate for Rosenthal, 1980s
View Similar Items
Piero Fornasetti Plate for Rosenthal, 1980s
About the Item
- Creator:Rosenthal (Manufacturer),Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Diameter: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1980s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU813826913822
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.
Rosenthal
While the Rosenthal Porcelain Factory grew from humble decorating roots — as many pottery companies do — it eventually built a list of universally revered designer and artist partners that included Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. And after securing an enviable position as a top manufacturer of serveware and dominating the porcelain and bone china markets, Rosenthal expanded into furniture production, working with influential designers Verner Panton, Luigi Colani and Günther Ferdinand Ris and Herbert Selldorf.
German-born Jewish businessman Philipp Rosenthal founded the company in 1879 in Bavaria. It began as his modest workshop where he painted porcelain and encountered success with porcelain ashtrays. Rosenthal hired the best designers and clay modelers he could find. Adolf Oppel designed figurative Art Nouveau pieces, while Eleonore (Lore) Friedrich-Gronau produced decorative objects, namely her graceful porcelain dancer figurines, for the company.
Dinnerware, though, would be a Rosenthal mainstay. Between 1904 and 1910, Rosenthal produced its renowned dinnerware lines such as Donatello, Darmstadt and Isolde. These were introduced as unornamented white pieces — only later were they given their underglaze designs.
Rosenthal founder Philipp, a Catholic of Jewish ancestry, resigned in 1934 as the company’s president due to pressures owing to discriminatory German laws that took shape during the rise of the Nazi regime. Rosenthal died in 1937, and the family fled to America. The company would not regain its footing until 1950 when Rosenthal’s son, Philip, joined the firm and, in 1958, became chairman and dubbed Germany’s “China King.” At its peak, the company had 10,000 employees.
In the 1950s, Rosenthal’s modernist dinnerware was a significant part of the brand’s offerings, and by 1961 they introduced the famed Rosenthal Studio Line. Although furniture designers and ceramicists would lead the list of individuals working with Rosenthal — among them Tapio Wirkkala, Max Weber and Lisa Larson — the company eventually reached out to fine artists, not only Dalí and Warhol but Sandro Chia and Kenny Scharf. Rosenthal also collaborated with fashion designers Gianni Versace and Donatella Versace.
In a daring move in 1972, the company diversified into furniture, collaborating with some of the giants of mid-century modern design. The revolutionary Sunball chair, an icon of Space Age seating crafted by Selldorf and Ris, was among Rosenthal’s stellar successes in this venture.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Rosenthal ceramics, porcelain, tableware, seating and more.
- "Pesci" Piero Fornasetti Plates, Italy, 1960sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NY1960s Piero Fornasetti plates depicting fish. Sold individually, price per plate. Condition: Excellent vintage condition, minor wear consistent wi...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-P...
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Plates from the " Tema E Variazioni" SeriesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYVintage Piero Fornasetti plates from the " Tema e Variazioni" series depicting the fictional character, Giulia, in a variety of creative ways. Sold individually-price per plate. C...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsCeramic
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Plates from the "Istrumenti Musicali" SeriesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYVintage 1950s hand painted Piero Fornasetti plates from the " Instrumenti Musicali" series depicting string musical instruments. Sold individua...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Magazine StandBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYMagazine stand designed and manufactured by Piero Fornasetti in the 1950s. Lithographic transfer print depicting a basket of colorful flowers. Has brass legs and a center handle. Ori...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
$2,100 Sale Price40% Off - Piero Fornasetti Stool, Italy, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NY1950s Piero Fornasetti stool with a musical motif on a red background. Only about 60 were ever made and it was never re-edited adding to its rarity. Condition: Excellent vintage c...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsWood
Sold$4,900 - Piero Fornasetti Umbrella Stand with Floral MotifBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYPiero Fornasetti Umbrella Stand with Floral Motif $3,200.00 Italian Mid-Century umbrella stand by Piero Fornasetti featuring a floral motif on off-white background. Original logo on ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- 1980s Plates, Set of 8 Vintage Plates by Piero Fornasetti, 1980sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, IT1980s Plate, Calendar series is a set of 8 silk-screened porcelain plate, designed by Piero Fornasetti during the 1980s from the Calendario series, the Happy New Year dishes series. Good conditions. Black and white ceramic Fornasetti wall plate...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Rosone Charger, 1960sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Miami, FLA vintage decorative Rosone N.6 large plate or charger designed and manufactured by the Italian master of playful and surreal self-expression Piero Fo...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsPorcelain
$1,450 / item - 1970s Set of Vintage Porcelain Plates, by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, IT1970s plate, Calendar series is a set of 9 silk-screened porcelain plate, designed by Piero Fornasetti during the 1970s from the Calendario series, the Happy New Year dishes series. It includes all the years except 1977. Good conditions. Black and white ceramic Fornasetti wall plate...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Bookender by Piero Fornasetti, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITBookenders is a decorative object realized by Piero Fornasetti, in 1950s. Metal structure with velvet parts, some parts damaged. 20 x 15 x 13 cm. Good conditions, some yellowing ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Decorative Baskets
MaterialsMetal
- Bookender by Piero Fornasetti, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITBookenders is a decorative object realized by Piero Fornasetti, in 1950s. Metal structure with velvet parts, some parts damaged. 20 x 15 x 13 cm. Good conditions, some yellowing ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Decorative Baskets
MaterialsMetal
- Piero Fornasetti, Mod. Re Sole Tray, Atelier Fornasetti, circa 1955By Piero Fornasetti, FornasettiLocated in Firenze, ITPiero Fornasetti, 'Re Sole' tray Prod. Fornasetti, Milan, Italy, circa 1955 Serigraphed metal. H 3.5 cm x Diameter 41 cm Bibliography: Mariuccia Ca...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Serving Pieces
MaterialsAluminum