Set of Six 'Conchyliorum' Coasters, 1950s Piero Fornasetti
View Similar Items
Set of Six 'Conchyliorum' Coasters, 1950s Piero Fornasetti
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.25 in (6.35 mm)Diameter: 4 in (10.16 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Aesthetic Movement (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Ceramic,Glazed
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor wear to gilded edge.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5008221915442
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative 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 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 decorative objects to dinner plates, table lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often Surrealist 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 Fornasetti's 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 the artist's collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking 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.
Find vintage Piero Fornasetti dinner plates, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Piero Fornasetti set of eight Monkeys ceramic coasters, Italy 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milan, ITPiero Fornasetti set of eight Monkeys ceramic coasters, From the "Ne sont tous chevaliers qui sur cheval montent" series Italy 1950s Original box.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti Six Porcelain Gilt Seashell Plates, Conchyliorum Pattern, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti porcelain gilt seashell porcelain plates, Conchyliorum pattern, Set of six plates, circa 1950s. The set of plates with a gilt ground and each beautifully decorated ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti N 8 Coaster Ceramic 1950By FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITFornasetti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Eight Vintage Piero Fornasetti Musicalia CoastersBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Doraville, GAA set of eight porcelain coasters designed by Piero Fornasetti. The design is named "Musicalia". The coasters are white porcelain with a gilt gold background outlined in black depic...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of 8 Fornasetti 1950s Double Face CoastersLocated in Tarrytown, NYSet of 8 Fornasetti 1950s double face coasters in original box.Category
Vintage 1950s Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti Set of Six Strumenti Musicali Plates, 1950s-1960sBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti set of six strumenti musicali plates 1950s-1960s. The plates each depict a different selection of stringed instruments including guitars and lutes on a faux bois...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic, Pottery