corner cabinet

Object NameCorner Cabinet with Reverse-Painted Glass Doors

Decorator Piero Fornasetti (Italian, 1913-1988)

Designer Gio Ponti (Italian, 1891-1979)

Studio Fontana d'Arte (Italian)

Made FromWood, Glass, Paint, Enamels

Date1941

Place MadeItaly, Milan

TechniqueReverse-painted, printing transfer, hand brushed

SizeOverall (right side) H: 1697 cm; Overall (left side) H: 1696; Overall (back) H: 1690 cm; Overall (glass doors) L: 1280 cm, W: 29.9 cm

Accession Number92.3.74

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

On ViewModern Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

The cabinet, a prototype for Fontana Arte, was designed by Ponti, and the doors were painted by Fornasetti. The “farfalle” (butterflies) decoration is a motif that Fornasetti regularly employed. The cabinet was never put into production.

Physical DescriptionColorless non-lead glass with polychrome decoration; paint, enamels; reverse-painted glass: background and some detail probably applied by a printing (possibly lithographic) transfer technique, remainder of color applied by hand brushing. Vertical corner wooden cabinet laminated on front and legs with rosewood, stands on three narrow legs tapering to a point; facade comprised of upper and lower straight flat bands of wood framing two flat vertical rectangular doors, each faced with a glass sheet reverse-screen printed and painted in overall pattern of multi-colored butterflies, moths, fruits (pears, lemon, peach, orange, cherries, grapes, plums), vegetables (pumpkin, squash), flowers, one bird with long beak and forked tail on branch, seashells and three military or commemorative medals on a black background, each panel attached by four corner screws (two of the eight missing their metal caps); two small closely spaced gun-metal vertical rectangular knobs with original key, one keyhole framed in rosewood under right handle; interior has two removable triangular glass shelves; impressed on wooden back (behind front left side), upper right edge: "3766 F (over an "x")".
Provenance

Source Christie's, NY - 1992-12-10