Mario Bellini Italian, Bitossi Style, Glazed Ceramic Cat Circa 1960

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Mario Bellini (Italian, 1935–2024), In The Style Of Bitossi, Glazed Ceramic Cat Figure, Circa 1960

A sculptural glazed ceramic figure … Read more Mario Bellini (Italian, 1935–2024), In The Style Of Bitossi, Glazed Ceramic Cat Figure, Circa 1960

A sculptural glazed ceramic figure of a seated cat, catalogued here as Mario Bellini and dated circa 1960, conceived with a distinctly modern profile that privileges silhouette and surface over naturalistic detail. The animal sits upright with elongated forelegs extended forward and the tail drawn into a tight spiral at the haunch, creating a continuous, strongly legible contour that reads almost as an emblem. The form is finished in a saturated palette of cobalt and turquoise blues with subtle tonal shifts in the glaze, animated by a fine craquelure network that spreads across the glossy surface and gives the color fields a softly aged, tactile depth. Over this luminous ground, confident black linework defines the face—large almond eyes with stylized lashes, whiskers, and a simplified muzzle—while bold, decorative floral and foliate motifs are drafted across the body and limbs, integrating ornament with the sculpture’s rounded modeling.

In the style of Bitossi, the piece aligns with mid-century Italian decorative ceramics in which playful figural subjects were treated with graphic clarity and high-chroma glazes, balancing artisan character with a design-led sensibility. The underside bears an Italy mark with an accompanying numeric or alphanumeric notation consistent with workshop or inventory practice, supporting its identification as an Italian object made for both domestic display and export. As a circa 1960 example, the cat’s combination of vivid glazing, assertive outlining, and simplified architecture captures the period’s distinctive fusion of whimsy and modernism, functioning equally well as a collectible ceramic figure and as a small-scale sculptural accent.

Measurements: 10.5" h x 9" w x 5.625" d. See less