Vintage Set 'Passata di Pesce' by Piero Fornasetti, 1955
View Similar Items
Vintage Set 'Passata di Pesce' by Piero Fornasetti, 1955
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.91 in (2.3 cm)Diameter: 10.24 in (26 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1955
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:JM Haarlem, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU930320258572
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 Large Plate Gilded Acorn Ptn from Pigne Series, Circa 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Lincoln, LincolnshireThis is a Rare Piero Fornasetti porcelain large plate, dating to the mid century 1950's It is from the Pigne series in the rare Gilded acorn pattern with detailed hand gilding as per...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Astrolabio Plate 1955 ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITPiero Fornasetti plate.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of 8 Cups or Coasters “Cocktails” by Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti MilanoBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Brussels, BEAbout this set of 8 cups or coasters "Cocktails" by Piero Fornasetti Porcelain with polychrome decoration. Each coaster illustrating a cocktail and its recipe. Each coaster marked...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of Twenty Four Early Piero Fornasetti Adam and Eve Porcelain PlatesLocated in Benington, HertsA fine set of “Adam and Eve” lithographic transfer printed plates designed in 1954. Italy Milan - Adamo set of 12 plates circa 1980’s Italy Milan - Eva set of 12 plates circa 1950/60’s These were originally part of a private collectors who has kept them in amazing condition. The Eva plates are very rare as thought to be some of the first to have been produced. Each plate having printers maker’s marks with leaf and title, numbered 1 to 12 on each set. Both sets in mint condition ideal for a serious collector. PIERO FORNASETTI (1913 - 1988)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...Category
20th Century Italian Ceramics
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astrolabe PlateBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Piero Fornasetti astrolabe plate, Numbered #7 in Series 1960s-mid 1970s. The Piero Fornasetti porcelain plate depicts an astrolabe in a ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Set of Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Rosoni Pattern Plates-RosettesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Set of Six Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Rosoni pattern plates depicting Rosettes 1980s, The dramatic plates depict six different large black and white flower-shaped rosettes on a gilt ground. Dimensions: 10 inches diameter x 1 1/4 inches high. The plates are numbered 1-6, each a different design. Mark: a printed black and white flower with the name ROSONI above the Fornasetti hand...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain