The Illogical Dinner: Fornasetti's "Beautiful Soup" Plate

Object: Decorative Plate / Promotional Recipe Plate
Origin: Designed by Piero Fornasetti (Milan, Italy), Produced for Fleming Joffe Ltd. (New York)
Date: Circa 1960s
Medium: Porcelain, Transfer Printed
Decoration: Black and white lithographic print featuring a toad, a soup bowl, and the recipe for "Beautiful Soup."

Dimensions: 10 1/4 inches diameter x 1 inch height (26.04 cm x 2.54 cm).

This unique porcelain plate, titled "Beautiful Soup," is one of a rare series of fourteen promotional items created by Piero Fornasetti for the American leather goods firm, Fleming Joffe Ltd. The plate features a whimsical, surreal "recipe" for Beautiful Soup, which humorously uses the common toad (Bufo vulgaris) as its main ingredient. The visual design"”a large, detailed toad observing a small bowl of soup"”is rendered in Fornasetti's signature black-and-white, $19^{th}$-century engraving style, adding a layer of mock-seriousness to the highly improbable culinary instructions.

Historical Context: Art, Advertising, and Anarchy

Dating to the 1960s, this plate is a fascinating product of corporate patronage meeting postwar Italian design. Fleming Joffe, a relatively small New York company, gained notoriety not just for leather goods but for its cutting-edge embrace of modern art. The company frequently commissioned influential artists to create promotional materials, including working with Andy Warhol on advertisements, showroom designs, and copy, and hiring Ogden Nash for humorous textual collaborations.

The Fornasetti plates, distributed as New Year's gifts to clients over seven years (two designs annually), were part of this sophisticated marketing strategy. Each plate in the series, according to Fornasetti himself, presented a "decidedly improbable recipe," transforming a simple decorative object into a piece of Surrealist humor designed to subvert expectation and spark conversation. This rare plate serves as a physical fragment of a unique collaboration between two of the 20th century's most iconic artists and a forward-thinking American business.

Potential References

Fornasetti, Barnaba (ed.): Fornasetti: The Complete Universe, page 614, number 163 (for context on the Fleming Joffe series).

(Ref: NY8222-1-iun)


Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: Excellent - Minor wear consistent with age and history

Dimensions:
Height: 10.25 in.
Width: 10.25 in.
Depth: 1 in.

Category: Decorative Plates
Origin: Italy
Materials: Engraving, Leather, Porcelain
Creator: Brand: Piero Fornasetti; Designer: Piero Fornasetti

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Location: This item ships from Downingtown, PA

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Original Condition Unaltered; Some Imperfections; Excellent - Minor wear consistent with age and history