A Mid Century Set of Eight Porcelain Fornasetti Coasters
View Similar Items
A Mid Century Set of Eight Porcelain Fornasetti Coasters
About the Item
- Creator:Bucciarelli (Maker),Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 2 in (5.08 cm)Diameter: 5 in (12.7 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:c. 1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: R316TF1stDibs: 13090488933127
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.
- Mid-Century Modern Brass and Porcelain Chandelier in Manner of Tommi ParzingerBy Tommi ParzingerLocated in New York, NYMid-Century Modern chandelier in brass structure with inserted porcelain elements, in the manner of Tommi Parzinger. The piece has six arms supported by Greek key motif elements and ...Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Mid-Century Modern Sculpture Bust of a Young GirlLocated in New York, NYMid-Century Modern composition sculpture bust of a young girl made in 1965. The piece is bearing an illegible signature and date on the reverse, possibly "M Hersh '65." The bust rest...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsClay
$468 Sale Price28% Off - Eight-Piece Tiffany & Co. Makers Sterling Silver Complete Tea SetBy Tiffany & Co.Located in New York, NYA Tiffany & Co maker's sterling silver tea set, 1938 complete with serving tray. Each piece is engraved "Van P." The set includes a tray, kettle on Stand and burner, tea pot, coffee ...Category
Early 20th Century American Tea Sets
MaterialsSterling Silver
$13,500 Sale Price / set50% Off - Pair of Mid Century Glass Table LampsLocated in New York, NYA pair of table lamps in clear glass. Each is composed of a long, fluted body ending in a faceted glass ball atop a square base.Category
20th Century American Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome
$950 / set - French Bisque Porcelain Figures of Maidens & DovesLocated in New York, NYFrench white bisque porcelain figures of young classically draped maidens with doves, one possibly Hebe with cup and ewer, apparently unmarked, circa 1890. 13" H x 6.5" W x 6" D.Category
Antique 19th Century Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsPorcelain
- A Pair of Mid Century Clear Glass Murano Lamps by SegusoBy Seguso Vetri d'ArteLocated in New York, NYA pair of vintage sculptural Italian clear Murano glass table lamps by Seguso.Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsGlass
$3,375 Sale Price / set41% Off
- French Mid-Century Stone Coasters (Set of 8)Located in London, GBA set of natural stone circular drink place mats or coasters. Likely Agates. France, c1970s. A variety of colours and stone specimens. All have a circular hole in the centre pres...Category
Vintage 1970s French Desk Sets
MaterialsStone
- 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 - Set of Six Small Fornasetti DishesBy FornasettiLocated in Chicago, IL6 gold leaf ceramic dishes rare design with original box.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-P...
MaterialsCeramic
$2,541 / set - Set of Four Malachite Fornasetti PlatesBy FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of four Malachite Fornasetti plates.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsMalachite
$1,400 / set - Set of 4 Bavaria Germany Porcelain Dishes CoastersBy Mitterteich Bavaria PorcelainLocated in North Hollywood, CASet of 4 Bareuther Waldsassen Bavaria Germany, ceramic small dishes coasters. Dimensions: 3.5" Diameter. The Porcelain dishes are stamped Bavaria Germany they were produced in the 19...Category
Mid-20th Century German Louis XIV Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsLeather, Porcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Tema E Variazioni Porcelain Plate #78By FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Piero Fornasetti "Tema e Variazioni" porcelain plate depicting the face of the famous opera singer Lina Cavalieri, no.78 / made in Milano Italy circa 1960. Original mark on t...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain