Piero Fornasetti Prototype Miniature "Sole" Chair & Table, Italy, 2006
View Similar Items
Piero Fornasetti Prototype Miniature "Sole" Chair & Table, Italy, 2006
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.75 in (24.77 cm)Width: 4.25 in (10.8 cm)Depth: 5.25 in (13.34 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2006
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. The table has some very small spots of paint loss.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU804823408072
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.
- Miniature Prototype "Sole" Table & Chairs Set by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYRare and spectacular set of Miniature Prototype Table and Chairs by Piero Fornasetti, Italy circa 1970's. The chairs are stamped 'Fornasetti Milano' ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Models and Miniatures
MaterialsWood
- Piero Fornasetti 'Barbone' Dog Umbrella StandBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYDelightful Piero Fornasetti Umbrella Stand depicting a Poodle. Italy 1962, with back drip-tray.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Piero Fornasetti 'Afghan Hound' Umbrella StandBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYDelightful Piero Fornasetti umbrella stand depicting an Afghan Hound. Italy 1962, with back drip-tray.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsMetal
- Four-Panel Folding Screen by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYLarge Four-Panel Folding Screen or room divider by Piero Fornasetti displaying windmills and a city center. The reverse decorated with an Italian forestscape print.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage Model of Danish Mid-Century Corner ChairLocated in New York, NYApprentice cabinet makers would make models of furniture as a part of their training. A lovely addition for a collector of miniature chairs and a generally appealing decorative acces...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Models and Miniatures
MaterialsTeak
- Wharton Esherick Music StandBy Wharton EsherickLocated in New York, NYAmazing architectural hand carved walnut music stand by Wharton Esherick. Monogrammed WE and dated 1962.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Music Stands
MaterialsWood, Walnut
$62,370
- 1980s Gorgeous Piero Fornasetti Backgammon in Excellent condition. Made in ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1980s Gorgeous Piero Fornasetti backgammon for Dal Negro in walnut wood , the set is in excellent condition and includes four dices, the doubling cube, two dice shaker, all 30 checke...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- 1970s Gorgeous Piero Fornasetti Chess Board - Game Set Box. Made in ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1970s Gorgeous Piero Fornasetti Chess board - Game set Box for Dal Negro in walnut wood , the set is in excellent condition and includes chess game, checkers game, card game and dice...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
MaterialsWalnut, Wood
- Rare Silk Cravat by Piero Fornasetti for Pipe EnthusiastsBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Vienna, ATThis tie, designed around 1970's by well-known Italian artist Piero Fornasetti and currently not anymore in production, features an original and classy pipe pattern. Excellently pres...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Collectible Jewelry
MaterialsSilk
- 1970s Original Gorgeous Playing Cards Box by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1970s Original astonishing playing cards box by Piero Fornasetti in walnut wood . It's in excellent condition and includes two packs of vintage Dal Negro cards, 7 dices, and chips. T...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- 1980s Original Gorgeous Playing Cards Box by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, IT1980s Original gorgeous playing cards box by Piero Fornasetti in walnut wood . It's in excellent condition and includes two packs of Dal Negro cards. The box is signed on the botto...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Games
MaterialsWood, Walnut
- 1950s Rare Piero Fornasetti Smocking BoxBy FornasettiLocated in Water Mill, NYMidcentury rare size P.Fornasetti smocking box.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Boxes
MaterialsMetal