Piero Fornasetti Black and Gold "Cameo" Midcentury Italian Table Lamp
View Similar Items
Piero Fornasetti Black and Gold "Cameo" Midcentury Italian Table Lamp
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)Width: 4 in (10.16 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Wichita, KS
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU97959437093
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.
- Chinese Han Dynasty Unglazed Vase with Taotie Masks Mounted as Table LampLocated in Wichita, KSA Chinese Han Dynasty large unglazed terracotta jar, 'Hu,' with Taotie masks that has been mounted as a table lamp. Unglazed pottery like this dates to the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD...Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Han Table Lamps
MaterialsTerracotta
- Large Chinese Han Dynasty Unglazed Vase with Taotie Masks Mounted as Table LampLocated in Wichita, KSA Chinese Han Dynasty large unglazed terracotta jar, 'Hu,' with Taotie masks that has been mounted as a table lamp. Unglazed pottery like this dates to the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD...Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Han Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Terracotta
- Chinese Han Dynasty Large Unglazed Jar with Taotie Masks Mounted as Table LampLocated in Wichita, KSA Chinese Han Dynasty large unglazed terracotta jar, 'Hu,' with Taotie masks that has been mounted as a table lamp. Unglazed pottery like this dates to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD...Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Han Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Linen, Terracotta
- Set of French Maison Baguès Faux Bamboo Bronze and Églomisé Nesting TablesBy Maison BaguèsLocated in Wichita, KSA beautiful set of three nesting tables by French Maison Baguès, created with solid bamboo shaped bronze. The tops are finished with a mirrored églomisé glass set inside the faux ba...Category
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBronze
- 18th c. Pair Italian Baroque Mirrors with Original Silver Leaf and Mirror PlatesLocated in Wichita, KSAn exceptional pair of Italian Baroque mirrors with original silver leaf and mirror plates. Richly carved, raised crest in shell motif with scroll motif that extends down around each...Category
Antique 18th Century Italian Baroque Wall Mirrors
MaterialsSilver Leaf
- Midcentury Swedish Louis XV Style Bleached Birch Bureau Plat with MountsLocated in Wichita, KSA stunning mid-century Swedish desk in the Louis XV style. Book-matched, bleached birch wood with original brass hardware and mounts. This large bureau plat...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Louis XV Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Fornasetti Table Lamp Cammei Cameo Black with Red Italy MidcenturyBy FornasettiLocated in Bridgehampton, NYClassic Fornasetti lamp with black ground and red cameo pattern.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Red and Black Piero Fornasetti Greek Warrior MidCentury Table Lamp, Italy, 1950sBy FornasettiLocated in Vienna, ATA beautiful red and black enameled metal table- or side lamp from the 1950s. Designed by Piero Fornasetti for Atelier Fornasetti, Milano, Italy. In very good condition with nice pati...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of Fornasetti Table Lamps Cammei Cameo Black with White Italy MidcenturyBy FornasettiLocated in Bridgehampton, NYPair of Classic Fornasetti lamps with black ground and white cameo pattern. Note that lampshades not included...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- "Architecture" Table Lamp by Piero Fornasetti (Original), Italy 1980sBy Piero Fornasetti, FornasettiLocated in Argelato, BO"Architecture" table lamp in brass and metal by Piero Fornasetti (Original), Italy, 1980s Work of the great Italian graphic genius Piero Fornasetti, the "Architettura" lamp represen...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Piero Fornasetti Style Modern Cylindrical Brass Cammei LampBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITEnameled table lamp in white with red transfer printed lithographic cameos of emperors, and patinated brass. The lacquered, cylindrical base features transfer images of Classical Ro...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Piero Fornasetti Cammei Table LampsBy Fornasetti, Piero FornasettiLocated in Miami, FLA vintage pair of Mid-Century Modern Cameo off-white lamps designed in the 1960s by the Italian master of playful and surreal self-expression, Piero Forna...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass, Enamel
$6,000 / set