Richard Ginori - Figure - Erma (2) - Porcelain
07
days
10
hours
52
minutes
05
seconds
Starting bid
€ 1
Reserve price not met
Expert
Selected by John Laurance
Thirty years' experience in decorative objects and two decades as shop owner.
Estimate € 1,400 - € 1,600
No bids placed
Catawiki Buyer Protection
Your payment’s safe with us until you receive your object.View details
Trustpilot 4.4 | 133888 reviews
Rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
Rare pair of Erma figurines by Gio Ponti for Richard Ginori, porcelain, Italy, circa 1950–1960, unmarked and from Ginori’s showroom, measuring 11 × 6 cm, in very good condition with light signs of wear and aging, part of the L’amore dell’antichità series.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Richard Ginori - Gio Ponti - Erma
A rare pair of Erma by Gio Ponti, produced by Richard Ginori, is up for auction.
The statuettes are unmarked because they came from the showroom display cabinet of one of the Richard Ginori stores where sometimes non-sellable, merely decorative items were placed. The pieces come from the private collection of a Richard Ginori executive, active in the 1980s and 1990s.
In perfect condition, measurements 11x6 cm.
The erma paperweight is part of a series of small plastic objects, including male models and the double-faced erma portamenù and segnaposto, belonging to the series L’amore dell’antichità. If the portamenù and segnaposto were designed by Ponti in 1924 and molded by Zambini, the conception of the paperweight took place the following year (Livia Frescobaldi Malenchini, Maria Teresa Giovannini, Oliva Rucellai, Gio Ponti. La collezione del Museo Richard-Ginori della Manifattura di Doccia, Maretti editore, 2015, p. 218). In this case, Pontì created first the male model with a beard, then the one without a beard and the female variant, as demonstrated by the presence at the Second International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Monza of only the male prototype (Pompeo Molmenti, Opere scelte. Seconda Mostra Internazionale delle Arti Decorative Monza – 1925, Gea, Milan 1925, p. 58). The reference to the antique is not given only by the subject depicted, but also by the frontal hieratic quality and the idealization of the faces, treated through extreme formal synthesis and a graphic rendering evident especially in the definition of the hairstyles and the beard, which recalls Etruscan sculpture. If the plastic modeling of the different busts did not provide variants, the application of gold leaf allowed for several alternatives depending on the area to be decorated and the possible motif created by polishing the precious metal with an agate tip.
Very rare object.
Seller's Story
My name is Riccardo, I recently graduated in Art History from the University of Florence and I am passionate about porcelain. From tableware to artist vases, from figurines to tea and coffee sets, I am fascinated by the mastery and the ability of great artisans and designers who shape this so fragile material, turning a raw mass into masterpieces with a story to tell. During my years at university I became interested in the history of 19th- and 20th-century tableware art; today, every day, I work with prestigious porcelain pieces that always have something to say to me and to those who purchase them. Of my work I love that I can discover more about the objects I find as I travel around Italy, always learning something new. I always strive to convey to my clients this passion I have for the objects I sell, certain that each one of them has a story to tell: the story of who created it, the story of who preserved it, and the story of who will give it a new life.
Translated by Google TranslateRichard Ginori - Gio Ponti - Erma
A rare pair of Erma by Gio Ponti, produced by Richard Ginori, is up for auction.
The statuettes are unmarked because they came from the showroom display cabinet of one of the Richard Ginori stores where sometimes non-sellable, merely decorative items were placed. The pieces come from the private collection of a Richard Ginori executive, active in the 1980s and 1990s.
In perfect condition, measurements 11x6 cm.
The erma paperweight is part of a series of small plastic objects, including male models and the double-faced erma portamenù and segnaposto, belonging to the series L’amore dell’antichità. If the portamenù and segnaposto were designed by Ponti in 1924 and molded by Zambini, the conception of the paperweight took place the following year (Livia Frescobaldi Malenchini, Maria Teresa Giovannini, Oliva Rucellai, Gio Ponti. La collezione del Museo Richard-Ginori della Manifattura di Doccia, Maretti editore, 2015, p. 218). In this case, Pontì created first the male model with a beard, then the one without a beard and the female variant, as demonstrated by the presence at the Second International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Monza of only the male prototype (Pompeo Molmenti, Opere scelte. Seconda Mostra Internazionale delle Arti Decorative Monza – 1925, Gea, Milan 1925, p. 58). The reference to the antique is not given only by the subject depicted, but also by the frontal hieratic quality and the idealization of the faces, treated through extreme formal synthesis and a graphic rendering evident especially in the definition of the hairstyles and the beard, which recalls Etruscan sculpture. If the plastic modeling of the different busts did not provide variants, the application of gold leaf allowed for several alternatives depending on the area to be decorated and the possible motif created by polishing the precious metal with an agate tip.
Very rare object.
Seller's Story
My name is Riccardo, I recently graduated in Art History from the University of Florence and I am passionate about porcelain. From tableware to artist vases, from figurines to tea and coffee sets, I am fascinated by the mastery and the ability of great artisans and designers who shape this so fragile material, turning a raw mass into masterpieces with a story to tell. During my years at university I became interested in the history of 19th- and 20th-century tableware art; today, every day, I work with prestigious porcelain pieces that always have something to say to me and to those who purchase them. Of my work I love that I can discover more about the objects I find as I travel around Italy, always learning something new. I always strive to convey to my clients this passion I have for the objects I sell, certain that each one of them has a story to tell: the story of who created it, the story of who preserved it, and the story of who will give it a new life.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Era
1900-2000
Manufacturer/brand
Richard Ginori
Number of objects
2
Title
Erma
Country of origin
Italy
Material
Porcelain
Condition
Excellent condition: barely used with minimal signs of wear
Height
1 cm
Width
1 cm
Depth
1 cm
Estimated period
1950-1960
