Fornasetti Plate Gemini Zodiac Porcelain, 1973, Italy
View Similar Items
Fornasetti Plate Gemini Zodiac Porcelain, 1973, Italy
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Author)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.99 in (2.5 cm)Diameter: 8.08 in (20.5 cm)Length: 0.99 in (2.5 cm)
- Style:Other (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1973
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2924319178002
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.
- Fornasetti Plate Capricorn Zodiac Sign Porcelain, 1963, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITFornasetti plate Capricorn zodiac sign porcelain, 1963, Italy.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Plate Virgo Zodiac Sign Porcelain 1971 ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITFornasetti Plate Virgo Zodiac sign porcelain 1971 Italy.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Morbelli Zodiac Porcelain Plate “Gemini”, 1950, ItalyBy Arte MorbelliLocated in Milano, ITMorbelli Zodiac porcelain plate “Gemini“, 1950, Italy.Category
Vintage 1950s Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Complete Zodiac Sign from 1964-1974 Porcelain, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITPiero Fornasetti complete zodiac sign from 1964-1974 porcelain, Italy.Category
Late 20th Century Italian Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Complete Zodiac Signs from 1963-1974 Porcelain, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITRare and exclusive Piero Fornasetti Zodiac Signs from 1963-1974 porcelain, Italy.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Set of 6 Plates for Martini and Rossi Porcelain, 1970, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Milano, ITFornasetti series of 6 plates for the Martini and Rossi of Turin inspired by the major pieces of his Pessione Museum.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Viso Porcelain Zodiac Plate Gemini 0301-GELocated in New York, NYDiscover our new horoscope collection conceived in collaboration with iconic Spanish porcelain maker Sargadelos. Decorative or functional, this horoscope theme capsule of 12 porcelain plates...Category
2010s Spanish Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of 5 Piero Fornasetti Mitologia Gilt Porcelain Plates, ItalyBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Brooklyn, NYSet of 5, Italian, mid century, small plates or coasters by Piero Fornasetti, made exclusively for retailer Bonwitt Teller. The plates feature the "Mitologia" (Mythological) pattern,...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- 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 Porcelain Calandar Plate for 1969By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAPiero Fornasetti Calendar Plate for the Year 1969, The design of the 1969 Fornasetti porcelain calendar plate depicts a bunch of gr...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Vintage Fornasetti Porcelain Themes & Variation Plate, #15By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Fornasetti porcelain themes & variation plate #15, The Hand, Barnaba Fornasetti, Fornasetti Studio. The Surreal Fornasetti porcelain plate in the Themes & Variation patt...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Fornasetti Porcelain Surrealist Themes & Variation Plate, #83By Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAFornasetti Porcelain Surrealist Themes & Variation Plate #83, The Light Bulb, Atelier Fornasetti The Surreal Fornasetti porcelain plate in the Themes & Variation pattern depicts the...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain