Vintage Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astrolabe Plate
About the Item
- Creator:Piero Fornasetti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)Diameter: 8.25 in (20.96 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1965-1975
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Downingtown, PA
- Reference Number:
Piero Fornasetti
The Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti was one of the wittiest and most imaginative 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 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 decorative objects to dinner plates, table lamps and umbrella stands. His work is archly clever, often Surrealist 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 Fornasetti's 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 the artist's collaborator and patron. Beginning in the early 1950s, they created a striking 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.
Find vintage Piero Fornasetti dinner plates, chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Downingtown, PA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- MCM Piero Fornasetti Astrolabe Porcelain Plate, #1, Astrolabio PatternBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAVintage Piero Fornasetti astrolabe porcelain plate, #1 in Astrolabio pattern, 1960s-mid 1970s. The Piero Fornasetti plate depicts an astrol...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
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
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astrolabe Plate, Number Twelve in Astrolabio SeriesBy FornasettiLocated in Downingtown, PAThe Piero Fornasetti porcelain plate depicts an astrolabe, it is number twelve of twelve in series. A ribbon above reads "Ad Habendum Horam Ineqvalem Et Qvatvor Angvlos Celi In Die"....Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
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
- 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 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
- Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Set of 8 Gilted Astrolabe PlatesBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Paris, FRPiero Fornasetti 1913-1988 lived and worked in Milano and he was very fond of science. This series normally is composed of 12 designs about astrolabe or "Astrolabos" in Greece which ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Dinner Plates
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Eva / Eve Porcelain Plate # 3, SignedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Kansas City, MOPiero Fornasetti Eva / Eve porcelain dinner plate number 3. Signed. Never used as a dinner plate.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Eva or Eve Porcelain Plate # 8, Signed, UnusedBy Piero FornasettiLocated in Kansas City, MOPiero Fornasetti Eva or Eve porcelain plate number 8. Signed. Appears to be unused.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Astrolabe Porcelain Plate, 1967By FornasettiLocated in Atlanta, GAA porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti as no,3 of the twelves-piece set of the Astrolabe series between 1965-1976. The series each depicts an Astrolabio, an elaborate inclino...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Astrolabe Porcelain Plate 1968By FornasettiLocated in Atlanta, GAA porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti as no.4 of the twelves-piece set of the Astrolabe series between 1965-1976. The series each depicts an Astrolabio, an elaborate inclino...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Platters and Serveware
MaterialsPorcelain
- Piero Fornasetti Rare Vintage Matador & Bull Porcelain Dinner Plates Set of SixBy FornasettiLocated in North Miami, FLThese wonderful hard to find and hard to come by complete set of RARE wonderful bullfight black and white vintage Mid-Century Modern porcelain dinner plates are the genius work and i...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain