Marble Head of a Woman by Giovanni Nicolini

In the 1920s Gio Ponti, who defined 20th century Italian design, was the art director of Richard-Ginori, a venerable porcelain company established in the 18th century. When Ponti moved on in 1930, his protégé Giovanni Gariboldi, who also designed furniture and interiors, filled the vacated position. It would seem that Gariboldi found his model for these shell-shaped dishes in nature, but this is not the case. Rather, he channeled the essence of “shellness," and endowed his design with the faux verisimilitude of delicate ribbing along the scalloped edge. Yet he had them glazed in improbable candy-like pastel colors of pink, yellow, and blue. Originally used principally as ashtrays, no doubt, they could also be put to use as serving dishes for nuts and candies, or as decorative tabletop objects...

This faceted, geometric sculpture by the contemporary New York artist John Torreano dates to the mid-1980s.

This marble bust of a woman was hand-carved in marble that has a stark white hue with some areas of gray patination. The bust is signed “G. Dupre F. 1877” on the edge, indicating tha...

Sculpted clay head of a beautiful African woman. Light sandy brown with rough texture. A hand sculpted piece. Head adorned with a decorative circular pattern...