Historical Irony: Fornasetti's Renaissance Flatware Plates

Object: Set of Six Plates, "Posate rinascimento" (Renaissance Flatware)
Designer: Piero Fornasetti
Manufacturer/Mark: Fornasetti-Milano, Made in Italy (over SC Richards stamp)
Date: 1950s
Medium: Earthenware, Black and White Transfer Print

Dimensions: 9 inches diameter x 1 inch high.

Provenance: The Flatt Collection.

This striking set of six mid-century plates embodies Piero Fornasetti's signature wit: the playful juxtaposition of antique engravings with modern form. Titled "Posate rinascimento" (Renaissance Flatware), each plate features a black and white print of ornately decorated knives, forks, and spoons dating from the Renaissance era. The flatware is scattered and often overlapped, creating a dynamic, almost surreal arrangement that transforms the flat white surface into a visual puzzle.

Historical Context: Tradition and the Avant-Garde

Piero Fornasetti was renowned for re-contextualizing historical prints, particularly from the 18th and 19th centuries. In this series, he takes objects intended for daily use"”ornate silver flatware, which symbolizes wealth and domestic ceremony"”and renders them flat and functionless on ceramic, forcing the viewer to appreciate their graphical beauty alone.

The plates bear the stamp for SC Richards, a Milanese ceramics company that had merged with Ginori in 1896 to form Richard Ginori, Italy's most prestigious ceramics firm until its closure in 2012. This production detail links Fornasetti's 20-century avant-garde designs directly to the long, distinguished tradition of Italian ceramic manufacture. The collection's rare provenance from.

References

Fornasetti, Barnaba. Fornasetti: The Complete Universe (Page 141, #142 for three examples from the service).

Mauriès, Patrick. Fornasetti: Designer of Dreams.

Museum Collections: Similar Fornasetti decorative arts are housed in design collections worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)..

(Ref: ny08249-nrrr)


Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: I plate with old crack invisibly repaired.

Dimensions:
Height: 1 in.
Width: 9 in.
Depth: 9 in.

Category: Dinnerware
Origin: Italy
Materials: Pottery
Creator: Brand: Piero Fornasetti

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Location: This item ships from Downingtown, PA

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Original Condition Unaltered; Some Imperfections; I plate with old crack invisibly repaired.