Provenance
Private collection, Brazil
Thence by descent to the present owner
Literature
Mario Labò, "Un renouveau de la céramique italienne: porcelaines et faiences de Richard-Ginori," Art et Décoration, June 1926, p. 138
Paolo Portoghesi and Anty Pansera, Gio Ponti alla manifattura di Doccia, Milan, 1982, p. 40
Gio Ponti, ceramiche 1923-1930: le opere del Museo Ginori di Doccia, exh. cat., Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, 1983, p. 121
Gian Carlo Bojani, Claudio Piersanti, and Rita Rava, eds., Gio Ponti ceramica e architettura, exh. cat., Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, et. al., Florence, 1987, p. 21
Ugo La Pietra, ed., Gio Ponti, New York, 2009, p. 26
Laura Falconi, ed., Gio Ponti: Interiors, Objects, Drawings, 1920-1976, Milan, 2010, p. 37
Dario Matteoni, ed., Gio Ponti: il fascino della ceramica, fascination for ceramics, exh. cat., Spazio Eventi Grattacielo Pirelli, Milan, 2011, p. 136 for a drawing, p. 154
Catalogue Essay
In 1923, the young architect Gio Ponti was appointed the creative director of Richard-Ginori, one of Italy’s foremost ceramic manufacturers, with the objective to modernize the company’s production. The position, which Ponti held for nearly a decade while concurrently establishing his architectural studio, provided a significant opportunity early in the architect’s career to develop and promote his ideas of uniting art and craftsmanship with industry. Ponti’s inventive work for Richard-Ginori, whose porcelain production was based in Doccia and earthenware in San Cristoforo, extended from design to promotion, and reflected his ambition to establish high-quality mass production within the decorative arts. During this period, Ponti shaped the foundation of his multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to design, developing his own highly proficient and imaginative ideas, realized through the firm’s economic and industrial resources and Ponti’s own facility for forming fruitful relationships with fellow artists, designers and artisans. Ponti presented designs for Richard-Ginori to both public and critical acclaim at the first Monza Biennales in 1923 and 1925, the latter of which included the exhibition of the present model. Ponti's designs for the firm also received the grand prize in the category of ceramics at the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925. The markings on the present example indicate the porcelain blank was executed in July 1929, however the decoration could have been added later.

Ponti’s designs for Richard-Ginori combine classicism with modernity, revealing his aspiration to renew the spirit of Italy’s rich cultural heritage—an impetus that can be traced throughout his prolific career. Inspired by archaeology and classical architecture, Ponti reinterpreted the firm’s neo-classical iconography using a playful language, often imposing an element of humor and irony into his pictorial designs. Invigorating the firm’s characteristic Empire style, which he studied in Richard-Ginori’s archive, Ponti retained a simplicity of form and enriched the smooth surface of the porcelain with elegant, yet distinctly modern, decoration. Exemplifying his skillful ability to bring historical styles to life, Ponti surmounted the present vase’s classically-inspired bell-shaped form with an expressive figurative design. Two mirrored figures, whose theatrical, exaggerated outlines are entwined by their drapery and the surrounding stylized rinceau motif, form a synthesized composition suggestive of movement. Through the lightness and symmetry of the vase’s sinuous, pierced ornamentation, Ponti achieved an overall sense of balance and proportion, enhanced by the gilt decoration and simplicity of line, creating a dialogue between past and present, and art and industry.
Artist Biography
Gio Ponti
Italian • 1891 - 1979
Among the most prolific talents to grace twentieth-century design, Gio Ponti defied categorization. Though trained as an architect, he made major contributions to the decorative arts, designing in such disparate materials as ceramics, glass, wood and metal. A gale force of interdisciplinary creativity, Ponti embraced new materials like plastic and aluminum but employed traditional materials such as marble and wood in original, unconventional ways.
In the industrial realm, he designed buildings, cars, machinery and appliances — notably, the La Cornuta espresso machine for La Pavoni — and founded the ADI (Industrial Designer Association). Among the most special works by Gio Ponti are those that he made in collaboration with master craftsmen such as the cabinetmaker Giordano Chiesa, the illustrator Piero Fornasetti and the enamellist Paolo de Poli.
View More Works

Property from a Brazilian Collection

12

Gio Ponti

Large covered vase

designed 1925, executed 1929
Glazed and gilt porcelain.
26 1/4 in. (66.7 cm) high
Produced by Richard-Ginori, Doccia, Italy. Underside of vase printed under the glaze RICHARD/GINORI/29 = 7. Further marked in enamel RICHARD-GINORI/PITTORIA/DI DOCCIA. Top of rim printed 22 2C (partially obscured).

Estimate
$60,000 - 80,000

Contact Specialist
DesignNewYork@phillips.com
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Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

1
Line Vautrin
"Sequins" mirror
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $72,500
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2
Line Vautrin
Unique "Satellite Orange" mirror
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $125,000
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3
Jean Royère
"Étoile" double-sided illuminated bar, from the Parachini residence, France
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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4
Jean-Michel Frank
Table lamp
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $175,000
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5
Jean-Michel Frank
Large "Block" table lamp
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $68,750
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6
Jean-Michel Frank
Large "X" table lamp
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $40,000
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7
This lot is no longer available.
8
Alberto Giacometti and Jean-Michel Frank
"Bird," mounted on box
Estimate $25,000 - 35,000
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9
Jean Royère
Rare wingback armchair
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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10
Luigi Caccia Dominioni
Rare table lamp
Estimate $8,000 - 12,000
Sold for $18,750
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11
Carlo Mollino
Unique pair of wall-mounted bedside tables from Casa Orengo, Turin
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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12
Gio Ponti
Large covered vase
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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13
Gio Ponti
Illuminated "Parete Organizzata"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $87,500
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14
Hans J. Wegner
"Peacock" easy chair, model no. JH521
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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15
Hans J. Wegner
"Roman" armchair
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $33,750
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16
Eugene Schoen
Important table from the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) Roxy Theatre at Rockefeller Center, New York
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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17
Luis Barragán
Pair of stools from the Cuadra San Cristóbal, Mexico City
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $30,000
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18
Ron Arad
"Blo Void 4"
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $81,250
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19
Scott Burton
Pair of "Perforated Metal Chairs"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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20
Wendell Castle
Unique and important "Environment for Contemplation"
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $312,500
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21
Wendell Castle
Unique "Chaise Rocker"
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $325,000
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22
Wendell Castle
Unique "In God We Trust" chair
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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23
Jun Kaneko
Untitled
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
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24
Harry Bertoia
Monumental "Sonambient" sounding sculpture
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $125,000
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25
This lot is no longer available.
26
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Exceptional and monumental mantel clock case
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
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27
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Massive mendiculus aquatic bird jar and cover
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
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28
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $175,000
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29
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Colossal and extraordinary grotesque grinning crab
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $275,000
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Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

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Provenance

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Gio Ponti

12

Gio Ponti

Large covered vase

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