Vintage Piero Fornasetti Plate Lina Cavalieri, #130 "Tema & Variazioni"
View Similar Items
Vintage Piero Fornasetti Plate Lina Cavalieri, #130 "Tema & Variazioni"
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Diameter: 10 in (25.4 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:Seller: 000051981stDibs: LU259238712613
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.
- Four Gaudy Dutch 'Urn' Pattern 10' PlatesLocated in West Palm Beach, FLFour Gaudy Dutch 'Urn' Pattern 10' Plates England, for the American Market Four museum quality examples of finely decorated soft paste porcelain in the...Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Dinner Plates
MaterialsPottery
$2,400 / set - 12 Magnificent Limoges Gold & Platinum Encrusted Operatic Service PlatesLocated in West Palm Beach, FL12 Magnificent Limoges Gold & Platinum Encrusted Operatic Service plates France, 1920s, Pre WWII A stunning set of transitional design from Belle Epoqu...Category
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- 12 Coral Colored Marble Service Plates by Villeroy & BochBy Villeroy & BochLocated in West Palm Beach, FL12 coral colored marble service plates by Villeroy & Boch, each one realistically decorated to look like marble. Marked Villeroy & Boch 'Luxembourg'.Category
Early 2000s German Grand Tour Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- 13 Exquisite Rosenthal Garnet Gilt Orchid & Floral Service Plates, Special OrderBy RosenthalLocated in West Palm Beach, FL13 exquisite Rosenthal garnet gilt orchid and floral service plates, special order, each one richly decorated with wide red and gold borders, with vib...Category
Mid-20th Century German Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- 7 Roycroft Arts & Crafts Copper Service Plates, Roycroft Inn at East Aurora NYBy RoycroftLocated in West Palm Beach, FL7 Roycroft Arts & Crafts Copper Service Plates, Roycroft Inn at East Aurora NY USA, Circa 1905 A Rare and remarkable set of Seven Roycroft Arts & Crafts Copper Service Plates, orig...Category
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Dinner Plates
MaterialsCopper
- 12 Polo Motif Dinner Plates, Buffalo China for Palm Beach Polo ClubLocated in West Palm Beach, FL12 Polo Motif Dinner Plates, Buffalo China, for Palm Beach Polo Club Buffalo China, Inc., Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., late 20th century A set of twelve ...Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Tema E Variazioni Lina Cavalieri Torso Porcelain PlateBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Bishop's Stortford, HertfordshireVintage Italian porcelain plate by Piero Fornasetti (Italian 1913-1988) decorated with the face of his muse, Lina Cavalieri, printed on a nake...Category
Vintage 1960s European Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Themes & Variations Gold Plate, Tema E Variazioni, Pattern Number 96By FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAFornasetti Themes & Variations gold plate, butterfly, Tema E Variazioni, Pattern number 96, Atelier Fornasetti. A variation of Fornasetti's Tema E...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Themes & Variations Gold Plate, Tema E Variazioni, Pattern Number 34By FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAFornasetti Themes & Variations Gold Plate, Tema E Variazioni, Pattern Number 34, Atelier Fornasetti. A variation of Fornasetti's Tema E Variazion...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Tema E Variazioni Porcelain Plate #78By FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Piero Fornasetti "Tema e Variazioni" porcelain plate depicting the face of the famous opera singer Lina Cavalieri, no.78 / made in Milano Italy circa 1960. Original mark on t...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti hand painted decorative plate, "Tema e Variazioni" 78, made in ItalyBy Piero Fornasetti, FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITHave you ever wondered who's the woman that appears on the iconic Fornasetti plates? You might believe she's just an imaginary muse, dreamed by Piero Fornasetti. Turns out, she's way...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsCeramic, Porcelain
$695 Sale Price20% Off - Piero Fornasetti Astrolabe Porcelain Plate, 1967By FornasettiLocated in Atlanta, GAA porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti as no,3 of the twelves-piece set of the Astrolabe series between 1965-1976. The series each depicts an Astrolabio, an elaborate inclino...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain