Set of Four Malachite Fornasetti Plates
View Similar Items
Set of Four Malachite Fornasetti Plates
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Diameter: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950-1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU81887766833
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.
- Set of Four Malachite Fornasetti PlatesBy FornasettiLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of four Malachite Fornasetti plates.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsMalachite
$1,400 / set - Set of Twelve Late 19th Century Royal Vienna PlatesLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of twelve late 19th century Royal Vienna portrait plates with crimson borders, each with different scene, transfer with hand painted de...Category
Antique 19th Century Austrian Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
$10,600 / set - Set of Six Malachite VasesLocated in Los Angeles, CAImpressive set 6 of Malachite vases.Category
Vintage 1960s Congolese Vases
MaterialsMalachite
$24,000 / set - Set of Four Z Shaped ChairsLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of four Z shaped chairs with textured faux fur upholstery.Category
1990s Italian Chairs
MaterialsFaux Fur
$4,800 / set - Set of Four Bar StoolsLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of four metal and acrylic bar stools, U.S.A, 1980s.Category
Vintage 1980s American Other Chairs
MaterialsAcrylic
$3,800 / set - Set of Four Roman EtchingsLocated in Los Angeles, CASet of four Roman etchings with soldiers on horses and horses with their caretakers.Category
Vintage 1920s Italian Other Paintings
MaterialsOther
$3,600 / set
- Set of Four Plates 'Velieri' by Piero Fornasetti, 1960sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITSet of Four Plates "Velieri" is an original set of decorative objects realized by the Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti (Milan, 1909 - 19...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain "Recipe" Plates Mid-Century Modern Set of ThreeBy FornasettiLocated in North Miami, FLThese delightful hallmarked set of three Italian Mid-Century Modern Piero Fornasetti recipe plates are amusing and unusual. One is for stuffed crown roast or frankfurters, the other ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Classical Roman Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- 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
- Piero Fornasetti Astrolabe Porcelain Plate 1968By FornasettiLocated in Atlanta, GAA porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti as no.4 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
- Editioned Italian Fornasetti Calendar Porcelain Plate, 2013By FornasettiLocated in Atlanta, GAA vintage Italian decorative porcelain plate designed and made by Fornasetti. The commemorative plate is for the year of 2013. The plate was made in a limited edition of 92 out of 70...Category
2010s Italian Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Editioned Italian Fornasetti Calendar Porcelain Plate, 2012By FornasettiLocated in Atlanta, GAA vintage Italian decorative porcelain plate designed and made by Fornasetti. The commemorative plate is for the year of 2012 and features an angle blowing the calendar pieces. The p...Category
2010s Italian Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain