Miniature Red Folding Screen by Piero Fornasetti with Musical Instrument Motifs
View Similar Items
Miniature Red Folding Screen by Piero Fornasetti with Musical Instrument Motifs
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9 in (22.86 cm)Width: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU81988916453
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.
- Matte Steel Table Lamp by Francois See for Maison Jansen Orientalist MotifLocated in Chicago, ILVery chic matte stainless steel table lamp by Jansen for Maison et Jardin in orientalist pagoda style motif. Mostly likely designed by Francois See. In th...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Georges Jouve French Ceramic Artist Dish Leaf MotifBy Georges JouveLocated in Chicago, ILGeorges Jouve French ceramic artist small leaf dish.Black glaze with multi color hand carved glazed motif of leaf in the interior. Signed with Jouve cyph...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Roger Capron French Ceramic Sunflower Motif Coffee Table VallaurisBy Roger CapronLocated in Chicago, ILRoger Capron French ceramic handmade tiled coffee table with a vibrant radiating sunflower motif. Colors of olive green and shades of olive green and brown, tan, beige and white. A...Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCeramic, Wood
- Jonathan Nesci Folded Aluminum Powder Coated White Jack StoolBy Jonathan NesciLocated in Chicago, ILJonathan Nesci folded aluminum white powder coated Jack Stool. The Jack Stool debuted at ICCF in 2007 and helped to launch the career of contemporary designer Jonathan Nesci. He ha...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Stools
MaterialsAluminum
- Neo Classical Italian Rusted Patina Mirror Acanthus Leaf and Twisted Rope MotifLocated in Chicago, ILNeo classical iron Italian rusted patina mirror. Acanthus leaf details on the border with rope motif and large X on all four sides. Remnants of gilding r...Category
Antique Late 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Wall Mirrors
MaterialsIron
$2,400 Sale Price25% Off - French Table Lamp with Real Seashell Surrounded by Nickel Chrome FrameBy Galerie Maison et JardinLocated in Chicago, ILA French table lamp with real seashell surrounded by a very heavy wide nickel chrome frame, circa 1970. The very heavy chrome frame is 2.5" wide and .75" thick. By Galerie Maison et ...Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
$1,200 Sale Price53% Off
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Strumenti Musical or Libri ScreenBy FornasettiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLAn iconic mid-size screen depicting a library shelf on one side and musical instruments on the verso. A period example, circa 1954. Measures: 53 1/2" high.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsWood
- Splendid Piero Fornasetti folding screenBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITPiero Fornasetti (1913-1988) Splendid folding screen with three folding doors in lacquered wood with two-colour silk-screened musical instruments. Fornasetti production, ca. 1950.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsWood
- 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
- Piero Fornasetti Style 6 Panel Architectural Privacy Screen Room DividerBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Wayne, NJLarge decorative Fornasetti Style 6 Panel Architectural privacy screen room divider. Will go well with many types of decor. From Traditional to Modern. This is a heavy in weight piec...Category
Vintage 1970s Unknown Modern Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsBrass
$4,700 Sale Price32% Off - Piero Fornasetti Book EndBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Toronto, ONThis is a charming one half of a rare Fornastti bookend. It is nonetheless a wonderful collectible and highly decorative accent piece for a desk, or bookshelf display. Who knows may...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Bookends
MaterialsMetal
- 1970s Chinese Lacquered Folding Screen with Nacre Inlay Asian MotifsLocated in Marbella, ES1970s Chinese lacquered folding screen with mother of pearl inlay Asian motifs.Category
Mid-20th Century Chinese Screens and Room Dividers
MaterialsWood