Richard Ginori - Gio Ponti - Coffee service (15) - Porcelain - Service "Barbara"

Refined Richard Ginori porcelain coffee service, “Barbara” pattern, designed by Gio Ponti around 1930, an important example of Italian design from the Art Deco period.

The service stands out for its elegant shapes, delicate coloring and, above all, its distinctive and sophisticated polychrome decoration, which gives the set considerable artistic and collectible interest.

The rare charm of the antique rose color and decorations

Particularly striking is the very pale antique rose shade, almost powder pink, luminous and delicate, that characterizes all the porcelain pieces.

Set against this refined ground are imaginative decorative compositions inspired by plant forms and geometry, created with fine graphic strokes and highly elegant color combinations.

Stylized sage-green leaves, small pink and amaranth elements, golden-yellow details and delicate black outlines intertwine in motifs with a modernist sensibility, expressing the aesthetic explorations of the 1930s.

The decorations are distributed evenly across the surfaces and display extraordinary compositional lightness, enhanced by the generous areas of pink left unadorned.

The distinctive combination of this delicate shade and the polychrome motifs is one of the service’s most interesting features.

Comparative research has not identified any examples of the Barbara pattern with the same color and decorative combination, making this variant particularly interesting and worthy of collectors’ attention.

Design and details

The celebrated Barbara form is characterized by spherical volumes, truncated-cone bases and geometrically designed handles, expressing Gio Ponti’s unmistakable design language.

The coffee pot is particularly striking, with its large entirely gilded handle, long curved spout and lid topped with a spherical gilt finial.

Gold finishes also embellish the rims of the cups and saucers and the bases of the various pieces, creating an elegant contrast with the antique rose ground.

Service contents

The lot comprises:

* 1 coffee pot with original lid
* 1 two-handled sugar bowl, without lid
* 6 coffee cups with matching saucers

Top diameter of the cups: approx. 7 cm.

Original marks and commercial provenance

The pieces retain their original Richard Ginori marks, accompanied by the characteristic gilt label bearing the wording:

“MAGAZZINI RICHARD-GINORI – NAPOLI – V. S. BRIGIDA”

The mark attests to the service having been sold through the historic Magazzini Richard Ginori department store on Via Santa Brigida in Naples.

Original numbers in red are also present, including 30016 and 40.

These historic marks provide an additional point of documentary and collectible interest.

Historical and museum significance

The Barbara form, conceived during Gio Ponti’s tenure as artistic director at Richard Ginori, is documented in the manufacturer’s advertisement published in the August 1930 issue of Domus magazine.

Examples from the same series are held in important collections devoted to the history of Italian design, including the Wolfsoniana of the Museums of Genoa, which houses a Barbara coffee service dated 1930.

The pattern is a significant example of the formal innovation Gio Ponti introduced to twentieth-century Italian ceramic production.

Condition

The service is generally well preserved, with its polychrome decorations and gilding still bright, as shown in the photographs.

The sugar bowl is missing its lid.

The photographs form an integral part of the description and document the condition of the objects.

Collector’s interest

A particularly captivating set, bringing together the historical importance of Gio Ponti’s design, the quality of Richard Ginori craftsmanship, the unusual polychrome decoration on an antique rose ground and the distinctive Neapolitan commercial marks.

An elegant and refined example of Italian Art Deco taste, of particular interest to collectors of historic ceramics, Gio Ponti and twentieth-century design.