Piero Fornasetti Metal TrayItem Status:
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
Piero Fornasetti Metal Tray

About
Details
- CreatorPiero Fornasetti (Artist)
- DimensionsHeight: 1.58 in. (4 cm)Diameter: 15.75 in. (40 cm)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacturecirca 1960
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use.
- Seller LocationMeyrin, CH
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU1045020544992
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRates vary by destination and complexity. We recommend this shipping type based on item size, type and fragility.Customs Duties & Taxes May Apply.Ships From: Meyrin, Switzerland
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
About Piero Fornasetti (Artist)
The Italian artist and illustrator 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 dishes, 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.
- By Piero FornasettiLocated in Meyrin, CHPiero Fornasetti wastepaper basket.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Decorative Baskets
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Located in Meyrin, CHMetal cup.Category
Vintage 1940s European Garniture
MaterialsBrass
$1,000 - Located in Meyrin, CHItalian brass and metal vide poche.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Garniture
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- By Claudius LinossierLocated in Meyrin, CHVase by Claudius Linossier, circa 1930.Category
Vintage 1930s French Vases
MaterialsMetal
- Located in Meyrin, CHJust Andersen pewter cup.Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Vases
MaterialsPewter
$1,000 - Located in Meyrin, CHMurano vase.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Vases
MaterialsGlass
$650
You May Also Like
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1960s Italian Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Jars
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Boxes
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Baskets
Brass
Vintage 1940s Italian Vases
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Baskets
Metal
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery