French 1950’s “Turban Style” ring, large pearl (G.I.A. certificate, Weight of the pearl: 16 grams, bead cultured pearl, saltwater, drop shape, white color, “Orient” overtone) and fancy diamond ring set with two triangle diamonds (approx. 2 carats TW) and 48 round diamonds (approx. 8 carats TW) all set in platinum, signed
Flavio Poli / Seguso Vetri d’Arte Murano Mid-Century Modern art glass vase c. 1950’s
FLAVIO POLI (1900-1984) Italy
SEGUSO VETRI D’ARTE Italy
Vase c. 1950’s
Blue and clear Murano glass
H: 10″ x D: 3″ x W: 4 1/2″
Price: $1,850
Designer, businessman, ceramic artist. Born in Chioggia, he attended the Istituto d’Arte di Venezia and began work as a designer in ceramics. in 1929 he switched to glass and for Libero Vitali’s I.V.A.M. he designed animals, splendid Novecento-style nude figures in massiccio glass, as well as bowls and urns with figures resting on the inside, on lids or as handles. He subsequently collaborated with the Compagnia di Venezia e Murano, with the furnace of Mario and Lino Nason and with the engraver Gino Francesconi. in 1934 he accepted the artistic direction of Barovier, Seguso & Ferro, later to become Seguso Vetri d’Arte, and became partner three years later. Together with the master of the principal team Archimede Seguso, Poli was the author of grandiose lighting installations, of corroded vessels, of sculptures in bulicante glass, of animals in massiccio glass shaped while hot, productions which represented a milestone in the development of Murano glass. At the height of his artistic maturity, in the years between 1950 and 1960 he designed a series of sommerso glass pieces in a Nordic style, essential forms and sharp cold colors, which were awarded prestigious prizes (Compasso d’Oro). After leaving Seguso in 1963, between 1964 and 1966 he organized the artistic glass division at the Societˆ Veneziana di Conterie e Cristallerie.
Flavio Poli / Seguso Vetri d’Arte Brown Murano Art glass vase c. 1950’s
FLAVIO POLI (1900-1984) Italy
SEGUSO VETRI D’ARTE Italy
Vase c. 1950’s
Asymmetric vase in a dark brown Murano glass cased inside with a layer of pale green and clear glass
H: 10 1/2″ x W: 5 1/2″ x D: 2 3/4″
Price: $4,000
Designer, businessman, ceramic artist. Born in Chioggia, he attended the Istituto d’Arte di Venezia and began work as a designer in ceramics. in 1929 he switched to glass and for Libero Vitali’s I.V.A.M. he designed animals, splendid Novecento-style nude figures in massiccio glass, as well as bowls and urns with figures resting on the inside, on lids or as handles. He subsequently collaborated with the Compagnia di Venezia e Murano, with the furnace of Mario and Lino Nason and with the engraver Gino Francesconi. in 1934 he accepted the artistic direction of Barovier, Seguso & Ferro, later to become Seguso Vetri d’Arte, and became partner three years later. Together with the master of the principal team Archimede Seguso, Poli was the author of grandiose lighting installations, of corroded vessels, of sculptures in bulicante glass, of animals in massiccio glass shaped while hot, productions which represented a milestone in the development of Murano glass. At the height of his artistic maturity, in the years between 1950 and 1960 he designed a series of sommerso glass pieces in a Nordic style, essential forms and sharp cold colors, which were awarded prestigious prizes (Compasso d’Oro). After leaving Seguso in 1963, between 1964 and 1966 he organized the artistic glass division at the Societˆ Veneziana di Conterie e Cristallerie.
Marcello Fantoni Torched bronze and white plaster painted mirror 1950’s
MARCELLO FANTONI (1915-2011) Italy
Starburst mirror 1950’s
Torched bronze and original white plaster painted finish.
Marks: Fantoni, Firenze, Italy (hand script)
***This mirror has great style and character.
Overall dimension: H: 26″ x L: 33″ x D: 4″
Mirror dimension: H: 12″ x L: 17″
Price: $17,500
Born in Florence on October 1, 1915, Marcello Fantoni registered at the Institute of Art at Porta Romana in 1927 to attend the course The Art of Ceramics, which at that time was taught by the ceramist Carlo Guerrini, artistic director of the Cantagalli factory. Other teachers also contributed to his artistic formation including Libero Andreotti and Bruno Innocenti in sculpture and Gianni Vagnetti in the figure. He graduated in ’34 as a ‘maestro’ of art, and began working as a ceramist. In 1936, after having worked for a few months as the artistic director of a factory in Perugia, he established himself at Villa Fabbricotti in Florence and founded the Fantoni Ceramic studio. It’s production of serial and unique pieces had remarkable success at the Florentine Arts and Crafts Exhibit in ’37, revealing itself in line with the most recent tendencies, so much so that at the beginning of hostilities his production had already received notable artistic and commercial attention in Italy and abroad. After the war years, when Fantoni was involved in the resistance, in ’46 he began the creative and productive fervor that will allow him to enlarge his company, reaching at the beginning of the next decade the impressive size of over fifty collaborators. Among his employees were many students who, in ceramics and other fields, would become excellent artisans and even famous artists. In the following decades, especially between 1950 and the 70’s, the success of his work continued to increase, his unique pieces of sculpture and sculptural work, characterized by a design in step with the contemporary artistic currents, like archaic stylization inspired by Etruscan models, rendered modern because of their modern handling of materials, glazes and colors. For this original spirit of modernity, his works are in many private collections and in some of the most important museums of the world: in the United States his works can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Art of Boston, the Currier Gallery, the Syracuse Museum. In Britain they are in the Victoria and Albert Museum of London, the City Art Gallery of Manchester, at Royal Scottish Museum of Edinburg. In Japan they are present at the Museum of Modern Art of Tokyo and Kyoto. In Italy they are represented at the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, the National Bargello Museum and at the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe of the Uffizi. In his long and versatile career, Fantoni has completed works for churches, public and private buildings, schools, cinemas, theaters and ships cementing himself in both figurative and abstract ceramics and various metals, and qualifying himself also in the field of medalism. In 1970 he founded the International School of Ceramic Arts at his laboratory in via Bolognese in Florence. Fantoni died at the age of 95 in 2011.
Italian Futurist 1950’s “Auntie Mame” Handwrought Pewter Pitcher c.1950
1950’s ITALIAN DESIGN
Futurist pitcher c. 1950
Handwrought and hand hammered pewter in an overall footed ovoid form with a traingle form spout body and an elongated arching contoured handle
Marked: PELTRO with lion, MADE ITALIA
H: 15″ x W: 9″ x D: 4″
Price: $6,000
The 1958 classic film, Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, features this sculptural pitcher on the coffee table in the surrealist interior of Mame Dennis’ penthouse on Beekman Place #3, New York City.
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