Pietro Fornasetti Decorative Plate

Details

Description

This is a vintage Italian design plate by Fornasetti, from the iconic Tema e Variazioni (Theme and Variations) series conceived … Read more This is a vintage Italian design plate by Fornasetti, from the iconic Tema e Variazioni (Theme and Variations) series conceived by Piero Fornasetti.

Front (decoration):
The plate features a surreal, black-and-white illustration rendered in fine cross-hatching. A classical female face—derived from a 19th-century muse often used by Fornasetti—is visually transformed: the composition merges the human figure in an inverted, illusionistic way, blending torso and face into a single, provocative, dreamlike image. The style is witty, poetic, and slightly uncanny, very much in line with Fornasetti’s fascination with optical ambiguity and metamorphosis.

Back (markings):
The reverse shows multiple factory and decorator marks, including:
• “Tema e Variazioni”
• “Fornasetti – Milano”
• “Made in Italy”
• A hand-with-pencil emblem, symbolizing artistic authorship
• Additional decorator or retailer stamps indicating studio production and variation within the series

Overall character:
• Material: glazed ceramic
• Palette: monochrome (black on white)
• Era: mid–late 20th century (consistent with classic Fornasetti production)
• Aesthetic: Surreal, intellectual, playful, and collectible

This plate is not just decorative—it’s a small piece of Italian design history, intended to be appreciated as graphic art as much as functional object. See less