Ettore Sottsass Vase for Bitossi Montelupo
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Ettore Sottsass Vase for Bitossi Montelupo
About the Item
- Creator:Bitossi (Manufacturer),Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 9.85 in (25 cm)Diameter: 14.97 in (38 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1990
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Amstelveen, NL
- Reference Number:Seller: 1105128OV1stDibs: LU2600113289092
Ettore Sottsass
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
Bitossi
Like a Fellini movie, the ceramics of this famed Italian company embody a creative spectrum that ranges from the playful and earthy to the high-minded and provocative. Based in Florence, Bitossi Ceramiche draws on craft traditions that date back to the 1500s. These find expression in the artisanal vintage vases and animal figures by the firm’s longtime art director Aldo Londi, as well as the colorful, totemic vessels designed by the high priest of postmodernism, Ettore Sottsass.
The company was incorporated by Guido Bitossi in 1921, though the family began making art pottery in the mid-19th century. In the 1930s, Londi came aboard, bringing with him a mindset that respected time-honored craft, yet looked also to the future. On the one hand, Londi’s perspective fostered the making of Bitossi’s popular whimsical animal figures, hand-shaped and -carved and finished in a rich azure glaze known as “Rimini Blue.”
But with his other hand, Londi reached out to thoughtful, experimental designers such as Sottsass. Starting in the 1950s, some 20 years before he founded the Memphis postmodern design collective in Milan, Sottsass used the Bitossi kilns to create timeless works that manifest both primitive forms and modern geometries. In later decades, Bitossi would welcome new generations of designers, which have included such names as Ginevra Bocini and Karim Rashid. While always looking forward, Bitossi is firm in their belief that mastery of craft is the first step towards beautiful design. As you will see from the works offered on these pages, that is a winning philosophy.
Find a collection of vintage Bitossi decorative objects, lighting and serveware on 1stDibs.
- Small Ceramic Vase by Ettore Sottsass for Bitossi, 1959By Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLA small ceramic vase or bottle with green and purple pinstripe glaze designed by Ettore Sottsass for Bitossi. Aquired from the Miami estate...Category
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- Decorative Object Vase Ceramic Style of Bitossi for Ettore Sottsass MidcenturyBy Bitossi, Ettore SottsassLocated in Palermo, ITVase made of glazed ceramic with vibrant multicolored bands running across the bottom of the vase. In the style of Bitossi and Ettore Sottsass. Italy of the 60s. Note: We try to of...Category
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- Chalice Vase by Ettore SottsassBy Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Milan, ITThis elegant vase was designed by famous Italian architect Ettore Sottsass in 1962. It is in white clay and its geometric shape with a white finish is adorned with a series of parall...Category
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$1,065 / item - Ettore Sottsass Le Connessioni Vase from the Ruins Series by Bitossi Italy, 1992By Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Kansas City, MOLe Connessioni vase from the Ruins series by Ettore and made by Bitossi for Design Gallery Milano, Italy, 1992. Glazed stoneware. Signed to underside 'Ettore Sottsass 1992 3/9 Bitoss...Category
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- Vase Art. "6000", Design Ettore Sottsass, Bitossi Production, Italy 1991By Ettore SottsassLocated in Napoli, ITBibliography: "Ettore Sottsass, Tutta la ceramica" Umberto Allemandi & C. edizioni. Signed and numbered vase. Limited edition of 99 pieces.Category
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- Black and White Reel Vase by Ettore SottsassBy Ettore Sottsass, BitossiLocated in Milan, ITThis vase's simple shape is complemented by its geometric decoration that features striking motifs in black on the white background of the cylindrical shape. This piece was designed ...Category
2010s Italian Vases
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$1,120 / item