Set of Seven Fornasetti Dinner 'Pranzo Alle Otto' Butter Plate/Coaster Set
View Similar Items
Set of Seven Fornasetti Dinner 'Pranzo Alle Otto' Butter Plate/Coaster Set
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)Diameter: 4.13 in (10.5 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 7
- Style:Neoclassical (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. As photographed. Set of seven.
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU84648062483
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 Seven Ironstone Pharmacy Jars with Black Labels in LatinLocated in Houston, TXSet of seven ironstone pharmacy jars fabricated in thick ironstone. The intended contents of each jar is stenciled in Latin. Some jars display hand painted letters and numbers, which is extremely charming. Jars were glazed before firing and all are lidded. Stamped "Czechoslovakia" on the bottom. The small size is 3.5 inches diameter by 5.5 inches tall and the taller jars...Category
Vintage 1930s Czech Other Ceramics
MaterialsIronstone
$770 Sale Price / set21% Off - Set of Four Antique Ebonized Greek Revival Dining ChairsLocated in Houston, TXSet of four. Greek Revival style with scroll motif detail at top of chairs. Newly upholstered with vintage ticking.Category
Early 20th Century Belgian Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCotton, Upholstery, Wood
- Pair of Vintage Belgian School Charts of CellsLocated in Houston, TXThe chart also includes its original wooden dowels from which it can be hung. Pair of vintage Belgian school charts printed on cloth likely dating from the 1960s. Very graphic and in...Category
Vintage 1960s Belgian Other Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Pair of Repousse SconcesLocated in Houston, TXPair of repousse sconces with two iron arms each. Remnants of gilt decorate surface of the brass repousse. Dating to the mid-late 19th century. Unwired...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French French Provincial Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass, Wrought Iron
$850 / set - Pair of Japanese Satsuma Table LampsLocated in Houston, TXThis beautiful pair of lamps has relief decoration with enameled, painted, and gilt design. The lamps have been wired with European sockets; however, we can change the sockets to a h...Category
Antique Early 1900s Japanese Japonisme Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Porcelain
$1,600 / set - Pair of Frederick Cooper “Helix” Table LampsBy James MontLocated in Houston, TXPair of Frederick Cooper Helix lamps designed by James Mont. Hand-carved fruitwood with a double barley twist. Art Deco/ Hollywood Regency feel. Re-wired for the US with Edison socke...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsWood, Fruitwood, Giltwood
- Piero Fornasetti Rare Vintage Matador & Bull Porcelain Dinner Plates Set of SixBy FornasettiLocated in North Miami, FLThese wonderful hard to find and hard to come by complete set of RARE wonderful bullfight black and white vintage Mid-Century Modern porcelain dinner plates are the genius work and i...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
$4,640 Sale Price / set20% Off - Fornasetti Milano 'Fiori' Pattern Porcelain Plates, Set of Twelve, circa 1965By FornasettiLocated in Kinderhook, NYAn incredibly rare set of 12 large porcelain dinner plates in the 'Fiori' pattern designed by Piero Fornasetti and produced by Fornasetti - Milano, circa 1965. There are two plates o...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
$7,000 Sale Price / set30% Off - Pair of Italian Fornasetti Musical Instrument Themed PlatesBy FornasettiLocated in Saint Louis, MOBeautiful Italian musical instrument plates by Piero Fornasetti, an Italian versatile and eclectic artist, characterized by an unstoppable creative flair that made him one of the most prolific figures of the 20th century, and difficult to ascribe to a specific movement. Titled Strumenti Musicali Piccoli and made in Italy. Want to see more beautiful things? Scroll down below and click "View All From Seller" or favorite our shop to get your 1stDibs on our new inventory. Photographed along with and also available within our shop- Charles Hollis Jones Glass and Lucite Dining Table Pair of Mastercraft Brass Bamboo Dining Chairs Imperial Glass Bamboo...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Ikat Dinner ceramic Plates Set of 6By Bertrando Di RenzoLocated in ROCCAVIVARA CB, ITIkat and colors are the trademarks of Les-Ottomans and our brand signature this Set is made of 6 dessert cearmic plates, Made in Italy.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
$218 / set - Barnaba Fornasetti Calendar Plate for 2013 with Piero Fornasetti Self PortraitBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PABarnaba Fornasetti Calendar Plate for 2013, with Piero Fornasetti Self Portrait, #518 of 700 The plate depicts an image of Piero Fornase...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate, #74By FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate #74 The Clock, Atelier Fornasetti The Surreal Fornasetti porcelain plate in the Themes & Variation pattern depicts the face...Category
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain