Large Piero Fornasetti Ashtray
View Similar Items
Large Piero Fornasetti Ashtray
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.99 in (2.5 cm)Width: 8.27 in (21 cm)Depth: 5.12 in (13 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Macclesfield, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: 1407118914561
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.
- 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 Ashtray Ceramic 1956 ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITPiero Fornasetti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Ashtrays
MaterialsCeramic
- 1970s Mid-Century Modern Piero Fornasetti for Winston White Ceramic AshtrayBy Piero Fornasetti, FornasettiLocated in Aci Castello, ITA square white ceramic ashtray designed and manufactured by Fornasetti for Winston cigarettes, it features the famous woman's face that we see in many variations of her iconic illust...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsCeramic
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti "Caduceus" Lithograph Gilt Porcelain Green AshtrayBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage celadon/mint green ceramic ashtray/trinket dish with cigarette slots by Piero Fornasetti, (circa 1950s, Italy). Features lithographic tra...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsPorcelain
- 1970s Rare Porcelain Ashtray or Vide Poche by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1970s Rare Porcelain Ashtray/Vide Poche by Piero Fornasetti for Winston accessories. Signed at the bottom. The item is in very good condition. Dimensions: W 7,28 in. x D 7,28 in. x...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti "Caduceus" Lithograph Gilt Porcelain white and gold AshtrayBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Stockholm, SEPiero Fornasetti "Caduceus" Lithograph Gilt Porcelain white and gold Ashtray. White and gold ceramic ashtray/trinket dish with cigarette slots by Piero Fornasetti, (circa 1950s, Ital...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ashtrays
MaterialsPorcelain