Piero Fornasetti Red Strumenti Musicali Music Metal Bookends
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 5.75 in (14.61 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Downingtown, PA
- Reference Number:
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Downingtown, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Piero Fornasetti Strumenti Musicali Ceramic Plates, Set of SixBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Strumenti Musicali Plates, set of six The plates each depict a different selection of stringed instruments including ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Set of Six Strumenti Musicali Plates, 1950s-1960sBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti set of six strumenti musicali plates 1950s-1960s. The plates each depict a different selection of stringed instruments including guitars and lutes on a faux bois...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic, Pottery
- Piero Fornasetti Zodiac Ceramic "Libra" Pebble PaperweightBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Ceramic Zodiac "Libra" Pebble Paperweight, Original Gold Box, 1960s This rare Piero Fornasetti Ceramic pebble paperweight in its original gold presentation box....Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
MaterialsCeramic
- Capricorn Astrological Sign - Piero Fornasetti Ceramic Zodiac PaperweightBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Ceramic Pebble Capricorn Zodiac Paperweight, Titled Capricornus for the Astrological Sign Capricorn, Circa 1960 The oval ceramic...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti Italian Racehorse Champions PlatesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Italian Racehorse Champions Plates, Great Italian Equestrian Champions, "Grandi Campioni Italian Del Galoppo, Circa 1950's. The plates, numbered consecutively from ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Pin Tray or AshtrayBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Ceramic Pin Tray or Ashtray, 1950s-60s, This rectangular ceramic tray features raised sides and a playful design by Piero Fornasetti. Two contrasting hearts, one ye...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- 1950s Fornasetti Paperweight in Porcelain by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1950s Astonishing rare porcelain paperweight designed by Piero Fornasetti with butterflies. Handmade.Made in Italy. Heavy ceramic construction for use as beautiful desk accessories. ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
MaterialsCeramic
- 1950s Fornasetti Paperweight in Porcelain by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1950s Astonishing rare porcelain paperweight designed by Piero Fornasetti with butterflies. Handmade.Made in Italy. Heavy ceramic construction for use as beautiful desk accessories. ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
MaterialsCeramic
- 1950s Fornasetti Vide Poche / Catchall by Piero Fornasetti, Made in ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1950s Fornasetti original astonishing porcelain vide poche/catchall "Sonate- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" by Piero Fornasetti . Heavy porcelain construction for use as beautiful desk acc...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Paper basket Bin by Piero Fornasetti for Atelier Fornasetti, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Göteborg, SEPaper basket / Bin by Piero Fornasetti for Atelier Fornasetti, 1950s Its made of tin, decor of rattan in gold color. It stands on brass feet. Amazingly beautiful labeling underneath...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Art Deco Desk Sets
MaterialsBrass, Tin
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Black Gold Measurement Insulator Paperweight VintageBy Piero FornasettiLocated in North Miami, FLThis vintage Piero Fornasetti porcelain insulator paperweight is gold with a black background. Italian through and through. It is titled cleverly ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
MaterialsGold
- 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