Vintage Ceramic Plate by Bottega Riccardo Gatti Faenza, 1950s

Details

Description

Item description:
extremely rare, enormous majolica ceramic plate, decorated with still life, flowers, and butterflies, all in slight bas-relief, glazed … Read more Item description:
extremely rare, enormous majolica ceramic plate, decorated with still life, flowers, and butterflies, all in slight bas-relief, glazed with compact enamels and finished with a golden metallic luster, made by riccardo gatti around 1950-1960, signed on the back by the manufacturer he founded, "bottega gatti," and with the place of production "faenza." the plate is very large, measuring almost 60 centimeters in diameter, with a ceramic biscuit almost 2 centimeters thick, extremely thick and heavy. The relief decorations are all handmade and the quality of the metallic lustres with which it is finished is very high. The three butterflies, decorated with very light glazes, are spectacular, standing out from the rest of the plate with a darker shade and giving the object a touch of light of great value. A very rare and important plate, a real gem for art lovers and collectors.

useful information for evaluating the item:
the plate is very reminiscent of the works created by pietro melandri, a friend of riccardo gatti. It should be noted that gatti trained artistically at the minardi factory, which was later acquired by "melandri-focaccia." from online research on riccardo gatti and the factory he founded, we found lots of sculptures listed at auction for as much as €17,000-25,000, and several ceramics by the same artist offered on the internet at very high prices, ranging from €1,265 to €28,000 for a lot of six ceramic plates. Then we found a cake stand, similar in style and finish to lustreware, but much smaller than our huge plate, sold for €1,600 by the capitolium auction house in brescia, italy, at the 'fictiliadorabilis - ceramiche" auction on may 26, 2021, lot number 11, entitled "alzata (1938/40)". Or a vase, even smaller than our large plate, with much simpler decorations but a similar metallic lustre finish, valued at €1,500-1,800 by quittenbaum in munich, germany, at the 'design - moderne kunst" auction on 25/09/2012, lot number 32, entitled "vase (1950')". Then we found another small vase, valued at €800-1,500, from art international srl in bologna, italy, at the "dimore - antiques, silverware, and modern art" auction on july 15, 2022, lot no. 238, entitled "vase." meanwhile, a ceramic sculpture of a woman was sold for €1,300, excluding auction fees of 25-30%, by pandolfini casa d'aste in florence, italy, at the "arti decorative secc. Xix- xx" on 19/12/2005, lot number 83, entitled "figura di donna (c.1935)" (figure of a woman (c.1935)). Finally, the plate most similar to ours that we found is a plate made by pietro melandri, also with a light bas-relief decoration depicting a still life with a vase of flowers, also finished with metallic lustres, but much smaller, with a diameter of 49 centimeters, valued at €3,500-4,000. Taking into account the large size of the plate and the very high artistic quality of the object, we believe that it is worth around €5,000-6,000.
(by entering the details of the items we have indicated into google, especially the title of the auction or sale listing in the same language we have used, the date, the lot number, and the auction house or name of the sales website, you will, in most cases, be able to find and view the items mentioned).

information about the artist and/or manufacturer:
born in 1886, riccardo gatti founded the "gatti & c." factory in faenza with luigi montabilini in 1928. Among other items, the factory produced futurist-style ceramics designed by giacomo balla. In 1930, the factory began to specialize in ceramics decorated with metallic lustres. In 1932, it participated in the bologna exhibition, where it received a cross of merit and a gold medal for artistic ceramics. The factory remained active until 1972, the year of his death, after which the factory was taken over by his nephew, who changed its name to "bottega gatti." in the last photo, we have included additional historical information about riccardo gatti's factory and biographical information about the artist for those who wish to learn more. This piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
issues arising from misattribution See less