Vintage Side Table Hermes and Aphrodite by Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1950s
View Similar Items
Vintage Side Table Hermes and Aphrodite by Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Fornasetti (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 23.82 in (60.5 cm)Diameter: 21.46 in (54.5 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Roma, IT
- Reference Number:Seller: 780301stDibs: LU269837368923
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.
- Table Lamp by Piero Fornasetti, Italy 1950s.By Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITVintage Metal Table Lamp with Jugglers by Piero Fornasetti, Italy 1950s. cm. 40x8. Good conditionsCategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$1,973 Sale Price25% Off - Bookender by Piero Fornasetti, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITBookenders is a decorative object realized by Piero Fornasetti, in 1950s. Metal structure with velvet parts, some parts damaged. 20 x 15 x 13 cm. Good conditions, some yellowing ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Decorative Baskets
MaterialsMetal
- Bookender by Piero Fornasetti, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITBookenders is a decorative object realized by Piero Fornasetti, in 1950s. Metal structure with velvet parts, some parts damaged. 20 x 15 x 13 cm. Good conditions, some yellowing ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Decorative Baskets
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage Sideboard by Vittorio Dassi, 1950sBy Vittorio DassiLocated in Roma, ITVittorio and Plinio Dassi, midcentury Sideboard. Width 200 cm - Height 97 cm - Depth 50 cm - Rosewood, metal and glass. Good conditions!Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage Moro Head Vase by Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1960sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITMagnificent enameled gold ceramic vase by Piero Fornasetti (Milan 1913-1988), considered among the most original and creative talents of the 21st century. A rare piece depicting the ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Vases
MaterialsCeramic
- Piero Fornasetti, Vintage Plate from the Series of Church Domes Cupole d'ItaliaBy FornasettiLocated in Roma, ITDecorated porcelain Plate number 5 from the series Cupole d’Italia: Cupola di San Lorenzo a Torino. Each plate with a different dome of an Italian church seen from the inside named and numbered on the reverse. These plates were designed and executed for building contractor Andrea Brenta, Milan, as Christmas presents...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Side Table, 1960sBy FornasettiLocated in New York, NYPiero Fornasetti ‘Seeds of Playing Cards’ side table or occasional table composed of lithographic printed, lacquered and hand-painted on wood tabletop with image of card suits, heart...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Exceptional Table by Piero FornasettiBy FornasettiLocated in Brooklyn, NYRare occasional table featuring classically-rendered decorative faces on a brass tripod base. Great vibrant coloring and attractive fading. (Please confirm item location NY or NJ ...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsWood
- Midcentury Folding Tray Table "City of Cards", Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1950sBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Firenze, ITMidcentury folding coffee table. Fantasia “Città delle Carte” (City of Cards). The rarest and most fascinating Fornasetti’s pattern. Piero Fornasetti, Italy, 1950s French la...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Pair Italian Midcentury Lacquer & Screenprint Side Tables by Piero FornasettiBy Piero FornasettiLocated in New York, NYA Rare and Important Pair of Italian midcentury Side or End Tables by Piero Fornasetti. The pieces are beautiful compositions of form and design in the Modern Neoclassical aesthetic....Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass, Iron
- 1950s Aldo Tura Fornasetti Art Side Table Goatskin Mahogany ItalyBy Aldo TuraLocated in Chula Vista, CAAldo Tura Side Table mahogany wood and goatskin Italy 1950s Tabletop has exquisite renaissance art after Piero Fornasetti. Unmarked. 19 w x 14.5 d x 19...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsGoatskin, Mahogany, Walnut
- Piero Fornasetti Sole Brass Tripod Side TableBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Munich, DEPiero Fornasetti Sole Brass tripod side table This gorgeous collectors item is a ’Sole' side table by Piero Fornasetti, signed underneath with its ori...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBrass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
5 Reasons to Collect Art
From discovering new mediums to supporting rising talents, there are many good motives for building a collection of meaningful works. Learn the hows and whys of art collecting with our guide.