Posted 12 years ago
subversive…
(7 items)
This gorgeous coffee service by Riccardo Gatti (Faenza, Italy) took me far outside the boundaries of my usual "comfort zone" (my main focus is on American wares), but I absolutely fell in love with it and couldn't resist taking it home. There are eight cups and saucers - as you can see, the saucers have a built-in area to hold your biscotti while you sip. The designs, executed in gold and silver, are all different but have similar pastoral scenes. The edges of all pieces are also trimmed in silver. The saucers bear the mark "R. Gatti Faenza."
Gatti was born in 1886 and worked for other companies from 1908-1928, at which time he established his own studio, Bottega d'Arte ceramica Gatti. During the period of 1928-29 Gatti established collaborative relationships with many important Futurist artists, including Giacomo Balla, Benedetta Cappa Marinetti, Mario Guido dal Monte, and Gerardo Dottori.
Gatti died in 1972, and the studio has continued under succeeding generations of the family, remaining active today.
I have a couple of inquiries out to try and narrow down when this set might have been made. It has a 1930s feel, to me, but that's entirely a guess at this point.
Truly beautiful set. The red is great. I look forward to hearing about the further research into them. It seems that mark suggests post 1933.
"già nel 1933 quel simbolo pare scomparire per essere sostituito con "R. Gatti" o "Gatti R." sovrapposto a "Faenza"." ( see below)
It seems Gio Ponti visited the area in the early months of 1930 and suggested ideas for decors to Gatti and others. The metallic lustres here are different to some of the lustre vases you'll see on the net, but ..... I reckon you can see his influence, no?
"Nei primi mesi del 1930 Gio Ponti, che stava preparando la Triennale di Milano, si recò in alcune botteghe di ceramica , fra cui quella di Gatti, dando indicazioni per nuove forme ed illustrando vari decori per vasi. Fu proprio in quegli anni che Gatti cominciò a dedicarsi a realizzazioni di gusto moderno, da smalti opachi, a colature ad iridescenze su riflessi e lustri metallici. Dopo innumerevoli prove riuscì ad ottenere toni ed effetti particolari, grazie anche all'introduzione di muffole e al potenziamento del reparto della fornace."
http://web.tiscali.it/artemodernamaltoni/riccardo.htm
Thanks much for that great link! That was one I hadn't seen yet.
The other 1930s Italian ceramic artist whose work featured similar designs is Guido Andlovitz - thus far I haven't found any connection with Gatti, other than that resemblance.
Andlovitz is another great name and the Ponti connection is there as well:
"Nella veste di direttore della produzione della "S.C.I." Andlovitz mette in pratica l'insegnamento di Giò Ponti e si applica alla progettazione di manufatti caratterizzati da forme e decori intercambiabili, coniugando così il design di alto livello con la produzione di serie.
Tra il 1926 e il 1929, gli anni più proficui della sua opera, per il progetto delle forme e dei decori si ispira soprattutto alla tradizione del settecento lombardo e alla produzione della manifattura milanese di Felice Clerici, reinterpretandoli con grande fantasia e originalità."
http://www.archivioceramica.com/CERAMISTI/A/Andlovitz%20Guido.htm
The only piece of andlovitz here on CW is wit Sean Bellin here:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/49069-guido-andlovitz-for-lavenia-italy
A real beauty!
Really beautiful!! I would be nervous to use! But would enjoy just looking at it! Don