Vintage Piero Fornasetti Display Plate, Barney's New York Collection
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Diameter: 10 in (25.4 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1998
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very Good Vintage Condition.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1727220167722
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and illustrator 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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Palm Beach, FL
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Display Plate, Barney's New York CollectionBy Piero FornasettiLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA Classic midcentury Italian Designed plate featuring an iconic image from Piero Fornasetti’s work, his muse the opera singer, Lina Cavalieri. Crisp black and white timeless design i...Category
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- 12 Turquoise and Pink English Dessert Plates, Antique, circa 1910By CauldonLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA pretty set of first course, salad or dessert plates by the Gilded Age Porcelain firm of Cauldon, England. This set features a turquoise border, hand painted roses and an interestin...Category
Vintage 1910s European Dinner Plates
MaterialsEnamel, Gold
- Eleven Antique English Dinner Plates, Cobalt Blue Gilded Musical InstrumentsBy Copeland SpodeLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA rare and wonderful custom set of 11 plates from Copeland Spode England. Rich Cobalt Blue Extended Collars featuring raised gilt encrusted cartouches of musical instruments. Custom ...Category
Vintage 1910s British Neoclassical Dinner Plates
MaterialsGold, Enamel
- 12 Hand Painted Game Bird Plates, Lenox Artist Signed, circa 1925By Lenox's Ceramic Art CompanyLocated in West Palm Beach, FLFully decorated with native flora and fauna, this set of 12 well designed and beautifully hand painted plates depict various game birds in their natural Habitat. On Fine bone china f...Category
Vintage 1920s American Dinner Plates
MaterialsEnamel
- 11 Elegant Antique English White Gold Dinner Plates, Antique Custom OrderedBy MintonLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA Classic set of dinner plates with a thick 24-karat gold encrusted band and raised paste gilt jeweling on the collar in a swag and bead pattern. Made by Minton England and retailed ...Category
Antique Early 1900s English Belle Époque Dinner Plates
MaterialsGold
- 12 Antique Heavy Gold Encrusted Dinner Plates, Limoges France Circa 1900By Charles AhrenfeldtLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA great set of Continental sized dinner plates with an elaborately decorated raised tooled gilded collar featuring shaped and classic double acid etched 24 karat gold bands. Crisp wh...Category
Antique Early 1900s French Belle Époque Dinner Plates
MaterialsGold
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astrolabe PlateBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Piero Fornasetti astrolabe plate, Numbered #7 in Series 1960s-mid 1970s. The Piero Fornasetti porcelain plate depicts an astrolabe in a ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Astronomici Plate, #4 in SeriesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAAstronomici means Astronomics. This is a rare pattern in black and white with gold highlights. Mark: A moon and sun within a circle with smiling faces with scattered stars and th...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Plate, Giastra Di Frutta # 6By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti porcelain plate, Giastra di Frutta # 6, 1955-1965 The pattern "Giostra di Frutta" translates as a Merry-Go-Round...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Newspaper Plate, Daily ExpressBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti porcelain newspaper plate, Daily Express, Giornali (Newspapers) Late 1950s. (NY8534B) The Piero Fornasetti porcelain plate depicts the front page of the Daily Express from Saturday, February 11, 1956, with the main headline reading "Now, Shiver and Shake", regarding cold temperatures in Europe. Another amusing headline is "Marilyn charming says Vivien", referring to Vivien Leigh, Sir Laurence Oliver's wife on meeting Marilyn Monroe. Dimensions: 10 1/4 inches diameter x 1/2 inch height. (26.04 cm) Mark: Marked with a black rectangle, the classic Fornasetti hand...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Astrolabe Porcelain Plate, #11 in Astrolabio PatternBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain astrolabe plate, #11 in Astrolabio Pattern. 1960's-mid 1970's. The plate depicts an astrolabe, it is number 11 ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Plates, Pair Decorated with Sea AnemonesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPair of Vintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Plates, decorated with sea anemones, urchins and shells, #7 & #12 from Conchiglie Pattern, Circa 1960-1970s. The Fornasetti plates are dec...Category
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain