1960s Marcello Fantoni Large Scale Abstract Italian Modernist Ceramic Vase

Large scale Italian abstract Italian modernist vase created by Marcello Fantoni of Florence, Italy. Vase measures 13 1/4“ in height by 5” square and is signed Fantoni for Raymor, It...

Ceramic covered box with target design and cup desk set created by Bruno Gambone of Florence, Italy. Box measures 5.5" in diameter by 3.5" in heigh...

A cylindrical vase by Marcello Fantoni. It is ceramic partially enveloped in leather. The leather creates a reveal for a stylish woman to appear looking out directly at the viewer....

Marcello Fantoni (1915-2011) sculptor, ceramicist, metalworker, multi-media artist and designer Born in Florence in 1915, Marcello Fantoni began studying ceramic art at age 12 at the Art Institute of Florence with ceramicist Carlo Guerrini, artistic director of the famed Cantagalli Factory. He continued years of training in ceramics and the arts, including sculpture with Libero Andreotti and Bruno Innocenti, and figurative art with Gianni Vagnetti, graduating as a maestro of art in 1934. After a stint as art director for a ceramics factory in Perugia, in 1936 he opened the Fantoni Ceramic Studio in Florence. Here he produced ceramic series as well as unique pieces, sculptures and furnishings. In 1937 Fantoni’s pieces were exhibited in the Florence National Arts and Crafts Exhibit where their unique combination of rustic forms decorated with African and marine motifs and painted figures garnered considerable acclaim. By the start of World War II Fantoni’s melding of ancient Italian pottery techniques with decidedly Modernist elements had won him artistic and commercial success both in Italy and abroad. Having participated in the resistance, after the War Fantoni worked for the 500-year old Maiolica factory in Deruta, Umbria, renowned for its signature tin-glazed pottery. In the 1950s he refocused on his Florence studio, dedicating himself to larger sculptural pieces...