By Alvino Bagni
Located in New Windsor, NY
A wonderfully textured and hand coil and constructed bright orange glazed Bitossi covered vessel. The exterior resembles a craggy brick wall. High glazed olive colored interior. Fully signed on the bottom, 1966 B, Italy. Circa 1960. Good overall condition with some minor glaze misses and unglazed portions. No visible cracks, hairlines or restorations. The piece measures approximately 7.75" high x 6.25" diameter.
Bagni Bio:
ALVINO BAGNI was born in 1919 in Lastra a Signa in the environs of Florence. His boyhood and adolescence were spent without his father; as a communist, he had been exiled under Italian fascism. The young Bagni learned the basics of drawing and clay modeling under the tutelage of artist/sculptor Torello Santini. Bagni's interest in ceramics—a locally important industry—grew, and he found work at Arnaldo Pugi’s furnace in Ponte a Signa. Following WWII, Pugi helped him finance the opening of his own studio, BAGNI CERAMICHE, where several family members including wife Gina were employed. Gina would work along side Bagni throughout his career. 3,500 elephant-head plates bearing the slogan “I like Ike” were manufactured for export during Eisenhower's 1952 US presidential campaign—an early and prophetic commission: the large majority of Bagni’s work would be for the US market.
In the 1950s and '60s Bagni established fundamental collaborations with Bitossi Ceramiche in nearby Montelupo Fiorentino and with the import companies Rosenthal Netter and Raymor, the latter being a dominant American firm. These relationships allowed Bagni to open a larger, better-equipped factory where he was able to surround himself with highly skilled artists—Enzo Borgini...
Category
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Clay Furniture
