Piero Fornasetti Roman Porcelain Paperweight
View Similar Items
Piero Fornasetti Roman Porcelain Paperweight
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)Width: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)Depth: 2.25 in (5.72 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1955
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Downingtown, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: NY85041stDibs: LU86106772593
Fornasetti
The Italian artist, illustrator and furniture maker 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.
- 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 Red Strumenti Musicali Music Metal BookendsBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Red Strumenti Musicali music metal bookends, Circa 1960. The Piero Fornasetti L-shaped bookends are decorated with a red-ground...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Desk Sets
MaterialsMetal
- 1960 Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astronomici Plate, #7 in SeriesBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PA1960 Piero Fornasetti porcelain plate with number 7 in the Astronomici series. Astronomici means "Astronomics". This is a rare pattern in black and ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Black and White Ashtray of a Roman ChariotBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Piero Fornasetti black and white ashtray of a Roman chariot, 1950-1960s. The Piero Fornasetti Neoclassical ashtray depicts a Roman chariot in black and white.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Commedia Dell'arte Maschere Italiane Porcelain PlatesBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti set of four Porcelain Commedia Dell'arte Maschere Italiane Porcelain lates, Italian Masks, circa 1970s Each plate depicts a character from the Commedia Dell'ar...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- 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
- 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
- 20th Century Piero Fornasetti Paperweight Calendar Happy 1968 PorcelainBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Epfach, DE20th century Piero Fornasetti Milano Paperweight Calendar Happy 1968 A rare Fornasetti porcelain paperweight by Piero Fornasetti Milano 1968. happy 1969, design Piero Fornasetti. T...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Paperweights
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Commedia dell'Arte PaperweightsBy FornasettiLocated in Riverdale, NYPair of porcelain Fornasetti pebble paperweights. Motifs: Commedia dell'Arte by Piero Fornasetti Measures: 4" x 3" x 1.5".Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Paperweights
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set Of 6 Piero Fornasetti PlatesBy FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CASeries of 6 plates designed by Piero Fornasetti for Martini & Rossi from the good ol' 80s!Category
Late 20th Century Italian Desk Accessories
MaterialsPorcelain
$1,120 Sale Price / set20% Off