Ceramics in Milan

Made in Italy in the 70s by Ernesto Treccani. This is an incredible polished earthenware piece that would fit perfectly in a museum. Measures: height: 140 cm width: 41 cm depth: 22 ...

Maiolica tureen “allo struzzo” (ostrich decoration) Milan, Felice Clerici or Pasquale Rubati factory, circa 1750-1780 Measures: 9.25 in x 12.79 in x 10.23 in (cm 23.5 x cm 32.5 x cm 26) lb 4.78 (kg 2.17) State of conservation, a felûre consolidated inside with slight edge chipping restored. In Milan in the 18th century two Majolica warehouses were opened, the first, by Felice Clerici, in 1745, the second in 1756 by Pasquale Rubati. Traditionally this type of decoration has been attributed to the Pasquale Rubati factory. In reality the motif “allo struzzo”, one of the clearest examples of how the taste for chinoiserie met with considerable success during the 18th century, had been produced, in specimens of greater or lesser quality, by both Milanese manufactories. This Maiolica tureen has a swollen and ribbed oval bowl, rests on an extroflexed foot and shows stirrup handles. The tri-color ornament, in the typical tones of Japanese "Imari" decorations, shows an idealized oriental landscape that develops around a perforated rock and has a willow tree with long lance-shaped leaves framing the long-legged bird figure. The ornamentation is enhanced by decorative elements such as butterflies, small florets and a vase with a thin flowery stem. The lid is ribbed with a pear-shaped knob on top. The decoration was called in the Milanese manufactories "allo struzzo" (ostrich decoration) and this refers to the oriental figure Xian He or the crane, symbol of longevity, here losing its symbolic value. It is hypothesized that among some 16th century engravings...

Ivanhoè Gambini Pair of Futurism wall masks, Italy 1940s.  

Splendid Art Deco La Fenice, Albisola Blue and Black Leaf Decorated Vase, Italy 1930s

Fornasetti duck ceramic 1960! Italy.

Fornasetti.

A coffee pot and two cups with saucers Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, Circa 1765-1770 Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). They measure: coffee pot: 9....

Large white ceramic apothecary-herbalist jar with cobalt blue decorations, to contain Thistle in a neoclassical style. The handle of the lid is in the shape of an acorn, on the sides...

Made in Venice, Italy, 1950s. This is a ceramic plate pyriform glazed by Otello Rosa for San Polo, Venezia, depicting two cats. This panel is vintage, therefore it might show slight...

Five oval maiolica dishes with pierced edge Manufacture of Pasquale Rubati Milan, 1770-1780 Three small oval dishes 10.23 in x 7.67 in (26 cm x 19.5 cm) Two large oval dishes 10.82 in x 8.85 in (27.5 x 22.5 cm) lb 3.5 (kg 1.8) State of conservation: intact The five dishes of different sizes have an oval shape, a mixtilinear edge and a molded polylobed shape with a surface enriched with a relief weave motif extending to the brim and forming a perforated basket...

Crespina Faenza, last quarter of the 16th century Maiolica painted in two colors, light blue and yellow, on a thick, rich layer of white enamel. It measures 2.24 in (5.7 cm) in height, 6.10 in (15.5 cm) in diameter. lb 0.55 (kg 0.25) State of conservation: mimetic restoration. The small cup has a raised central “umbone”, a perforated brim and a shaped rim. It rests on a high jutting foot. The "crespina" shape, in some inventories is cited as "tacce de frute" (fruit cups). It was particularly appreciated in the Renaissance and has variants based on the formal types and the different sizes. The decoration, made according to the dictates of the “compendiario” style, used few standardized colors: blue and yellow on a thick white and shiny enamel, deliberately chosen as the colour which was most reminiscent of silver. This choice derived from a trend in creative design of the era: the shapes used in the molds were often taken from metal objects. An idea which would last throughout the Renaissance. The work shows, in the middle of the “umbone”, a winged putto stepping forward while playing a long thin trumpet. The depiction of the putto is fully representative of the repertoire of the Faenza workshops of the sixteenth century. Some specimens with this type of decoration have been published in a volume by Carmen Ravanelli Guidotti: there appears the whole productive repertoire of this fundamental moment of transition between the taste for the “istoriato” style and the great simplification of decoration in the “compendiario” period. This style, in its simplicity, however, saw its expression in a rather varied collection of decorative subjects, including old-fashioned busts...

This charming Sicilian ceramic vase features a delightful pink floral design, crafted using an antique crackle technique that adds character and depth ...

Sick cup Pasquale Rubati Manufacture Milan, Circa 1770 - 1780 Maiolica decorated in polychrome “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire) It measures: h 2.36 x 7.4 x 7.87 (h 6 x 19 x 20 cm) ...

Made in Italy by Giovanni Bertoncello for Schiavon, 1970s. It is made in brown glazed ceramic. It is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it can be cons...

Assortment of dishes Lombard manufacture 1770 – 1780 Circa Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). Two large dishes: diameter 14.76 in (37.5 cm); weight 4.5...

Art Deco Guido Andlovitz ceramic vase for S.C.I Laveno, Italy, 1940s.

Made in Italy, 1960s. This vase is made in hand-painted ceramic. It may show slight traces of use since it's vintage, but it can be considered as in perfect original condition and r...

Beautiful Italian vase mid-century, modern green and brown Glazed ceramic amphora, 1960s. Ceramic amphora with handles glazed in shades of brown and light green in the central part. ...

Two maiolica pharmacy flasks Milan, Felice Clerici Manufacture, 1770-1780 They each measure 9.44 in (24 cm) in height x 6.10 in (15.5 cm) in diameter l...

Painted ceramic sculpture depicting an English Setter dog in a sitting position. England circa 1950.

Meissen porcelain coffee cup painted with classical scenes, made in the 19th Century Dish: Ø 14 cm Meissen porcelain is considered one of the earliest and finest examples of Europe...

Painted ceramic vase Memphis Milano by Luciano Florio Paccagnella, Lola, yellow color. He was an important member of the group when he created his series of unique handmade vases. F...

Made in Italy, 1950s. This piece is made in hand-painted ceramic and is signed by Ronzani. It is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it can be consid...

This is a Rimini blue vase from the 1970s. Made in Italy. It was designed by Aldo Londi and produced by Flavia Montelupo, also known as Bitossi. Bitos...

Maiolica puerperal cup Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, Circa 1770 - 1780 Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). It measures: 4.3 x 6.8 x 5.3 in (11 x 17,5 x 13,5 cm) Weight: 0.78 lb (358 g) State of conservation: some closed pass-through fêlures on the cup, barely visible on the outside. Some use chips on the edge of the lid, two of which are more marked. From about the mid-sixteenth century, the puerperal soup tureen or puerperal cup became one of the most popular wedding gifts in central Italy. As an auspicious symbol, it replaced the birth table (“desco da parto”) which, on the occasion of high-ranking marriages, from the thirteenth century, had been painted by famous artists, especially in Tuscany. In France this same tureen is called "écuelle de mariée", as it is given to spouses as a sign of fertility. During the eighteenth century this custom spread even outside Italy to all social levels. Depending on availability and rank, it was made of different materials: precious metals, maiolica, porcelain, glass, pewter, etc. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, the custom of this symbolic homage gradually disappeared, although famous designers such as Gio Ponti and Giuseppe Gariboldi, even as recently as the 1940s, revisited a model of a small puerperal soup bowl for the Ginori and, also in Italy in 1940, in a national competition for young potters, one of the themes of the test was indeed a modern model of a puerperal cup as an auspicious gift. This particular cup was also called a "service cup" or "puerperal vase" or "stuffed cup" - the windows were sealed with straw to prevent drafts of air for women in labor. In the eighteenth century the line of the puerpera cup was simplified, so much so that it took the form of a small tureen with two handles - the typical broth cup...

Precious Italian vase from the 1950s made by the great silversmith Arrigo Finzi. The vase is made in fine porcelain. Its great elegance and preciousness is given by its working in pu...

Richard Ginori Giovanni Gariboldi vase ceramic, 1950, Italy.

Pair of maiolica tureens Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, circa 1770-1780 Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). a – 8.66 x 11.02 x 7.48 in (22 x 28 x 19...

Made in Italy by Giovanni Bertoncello for Schiavon, 1970s. It is made in brown glazed ceramic. It is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it can be cons...

Memphis Milano painted ceramic vase, Hsing by Ettore Sottsass, red star-shaped. Memphis Group, an Italian design and architecture collective founded by Ettore Sottsass, active betwee...

Giovanni Gariboldi Vase

Sculpture in gray terracotta glazed in white, depicting a hand. The sculpture is obtained by gradually adding individual terracotta elements by hand. The hand is an example of sculpt...

Painted ceramic sculpture depicting a Dalmatian dog. England circa 1950.

Painted ceramic vase Memphis Milano, Ilios by Luciano Florio Paccagnella, pink color. He was an important member of the group when he created his series of unique handmade vases. Fl...

Pen Holder Ceramic Fornasetti.

Made in Italy, 1970s - 1980s. This piece is made in glazed ceramic. It is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it can be considered as in excellent or...

Memphis Milano painted ceramic vase, Hsing by Ettore Sottsass, blu star-shaped. Memphis Group, an Italian design and architecture collective founded by Ettore Sottsass, active betwee...

Two pairs of maiolica baskets Antonio Ferretti Manufacture Lodi, circa 1770-1790 Maiolica polychrome decorated “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire). Measures: A) Height 3.54 x 6.69 x 9.84 in (9 x 17 x 25 cm); B) Height 3.93 x 7.48 x 11.02 in (10 x 19 x 28 cm). Total weight 4.85 lb (2.200 kg) State of conservation: A) One of the smaller baskets has some areas of restoration, the other slight chipping from use; B) One of the larger baskets is intact and the other shows a clearly glued break. The mold with which the baskets were forged simulates a wicker weave. The two larger works have high, vertical walls, with branch-shaped handles penetrating the weave. The painted decorations, small polychrome flowers applied only externally, highlight the points where the weaves intersect. The decision to leave the center of the basket devoid of decoration is highly unusual, but given the size and complexity of the shape, as well as the quality of the enamel, it is possible to hypothesize that it represents a precise choice in manufacturing or for a particular client. The two smaller baskets have small, twisted handles and, on the outside, reproduce more decisively the characteristic wicker weave, obtained through thin molded lines. The interior exhibits a rich, typical decoration of naturalistic flowers: a bunch centered around a main flower and secondary stems accompanied by small “semis”. The exterior of these works is also adorned with small little flowers where the weaves intersect. The size and morphological characteristics of the baskets confirm their attribution to the Lodi factory of Antonio Ferretti between 1770 and 1790, during its most successful period; by this point his original reworking of the "Strasbourg" decoration, known as "old Lodi", had achieved great fame even outside Italy. This decorative choice represented a strong point of the Lodi factory, which established itself thanks to the vivid nature of the colors made possible by the introduction of a new technique perfected by Paul Hannong in Strasbourg and which Antonio Ferretti introduced in Italy. This production process, called “piccolo fuoco” (third fire), allowed the use of a greater number of colors than in the past; in particular, the purple of Cassius, a red made from gold chloride, was introduced. Its use allowed for many more tones and shades, from pink to purple. The Ferretti family had started their maiolica manufacturing business in Lodi in 1725. The forefather Simpliciano had started the business by purchasing an ancient furnace in 1725 and, indeed, we have evidence of the full activity of the furnaces from April of the same year (Novasconi-Ferrari-Corvi, 1964, p. 26 n. 4). Simpliciano had started a production of excellence also thanks to the ownership of clay quarries in Stradella, not far from Pavia. The production was so successful that in 1726 a decree of the Turin Chamber came to prohibit the importation of foreign ceramics, especially from Lodi, to protect internal production (G. Lise, La ceramica a Lodi, Lodi 1981, p. 59). In its initial stages, the manufacture produced maolicas painted with the “a gran fuoco” (double fire) technique, often in turquoise monochrome, with ornamentation derived from compositional modules in vogue in Rouen in France. This was also thanks to the collaboration of painters like Giorgio Giacinto Rossetti, who placed his name on the best specimens next to the initials of the factory. In 1748 Simpliciano made his will (Gelmini, 1995, p. 30) appointing his son Giuseppe Antonio (known as Antonio) as universal heir. After 1750, when Simpliciano passed away, Antonio was directly involved in the maiolica factory, increasing its fortunes and achieving a reputation on a European level. Particularly important was the aforementioned introduction in 1760 of the innovative “a piccolo fuoco” (third fire) processing, which, expanding the ornamental repertoire with Saxon-inspired floral themes, could commercially compete with the German porcelains that had one of its most renowned offerings in the naturalistic Deutsche Blumen. Antonio Ferretti understood and promoted this technique and this decoration, proposing it in a fresher and more corrective version, less linked to botanical tables...

Massive and rare Cast enameled ceramic vase, black glazed made in Italy and designed by Makio Hasuike, the shape is rational and minimalistic representing a contemporary architecture...

Made in Italy, 1950s. This wonderful piece is made in black lacquered ceramic with multicolored holes. It is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it ca...

Painted ceramic vase Memphis Milano, Avvenirista by Luciano Florio Paccagnella, yellow color. He was an important member of the group when he created his series of unique handmade v...

Made in Italy, 1970s. This wonderful tulip vase was designed by Carlo Moretti and is made in hand-blown and etched glass. It is labeled, but it is illegible. This is a vintage piece...

Vintage red ceramic bowl - valet tray, made in Italy in the 1970s with an abstract geometric shape. Hand painted, with a deep red base layer and a ser...

Cherry is one of the teapots from the The Indian Memory collection designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1987 and now re-edited by Alessio Sarri. All the pieces in the collection are signe...

Painted ceramic vase Memphis Milano, Ilios by Luciano Florio Paccagnella, blue color. He was an important member of the group when he created his series of unique handmade vases. Flo...

Black ceramic sculpture "woman" mid-20th century.

Box Richard Ginori “ Gio’ Ponti”

Guido Andlovitz Lavenia, elegant vase in glazed ceramic, 1930s. He was born in Trieste to Edoardo, a chemist in Grado, and Carmela Pasqualis. During the First World War his family ...

Painted ceramic vase Memphis Milano, Bastione by Luciano Florio Paccagnella, purple, red, green, yellow color. He was an important member of the group when he created his series of ...

Cinnamon is one of the teapots from the "The Indian Memory" collection designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1987 and now re-edited by Alessio Sarri. All the pieces in the collection are s...

This exquisite Le Murier Vallauris pink ceramic wall art features a beautifully painted bird design, showcasing the craftsmanship and artistic tradition of Vallauris pottery. Handcra...

Lapislazzuli is one of the teapots from the "The Indian Memory" collection designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1987 and now re-edited by Alessio Sarri. All the pieces in the collection a...

Jais Nielsen for Royal Copenhagen, ceramic vase in oxblood glaze portraying two Evangelical figures, 1930s. This piece is a great example of Classical Scandinavian and Mid-Century D...

This Antique French Provincial Tian bowl, dating back to the early 19th century and found in Provence, France, showcases a beautiful light yellow glaze with ...

Deruta (Perugia), Italy 1983. This is a hand-painted earthenware donkey that can be used as a table salt cellar or just as a decorative object. It is a vintage piece, therefore it m...

Cardamon is one of the teapots from the "The Indian Memory" collection designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1987 and now re-edited by Alessio Sarri. All the pieces in the collection are s...

Italian post-modern Ceramic wall calendar plate 2012 by Fornasetti, 2012 Wall calendar plate of 2012, limited edition, in ceramic. It present a drawing ...

This outstanding set of three ceramic mugs glazed in matte white belongs to a creative series of pieces handcrafted by Patrizia Italiano to celebrate...

Marcello Fantoni, artistic ceramics, ceramic sculpture, 1950s Italian design, Tuscan art, blue glaze, Fantoni bowl, Italian modernism, Florence, vintage ceramics Marcello Fantoni, c...

Gio Ponti Ceramic Cigarette Box for Richard Ginori Italy 1930s The box was later ( 1940s ) repainted in light green with flower blossoms.