EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION Piero FORNASETTI Tema e Variazoni Julia Teapot

  
EXTREMELY RARE Piero FORNASETTI "Tema e Variazoni" Julia Teapot by Richard GINORI 1735 - MINT CONDITION / Unused - FIRST EDITION. Sublime and iconic, the Julia teapot was designed in the late 80s by Piero Fornasetti as part of his quintessential "Tema e Variazoni" collection of unique design items inspired by his muse, the famous opera singer Lina Cavalieri who was known in the 1900s as "The Most Beautiful Woman In The World". Obsessed by Lina Cavalieri's supreme beauty, Piero Fornasetti has created until his death in 1988 over 400 objects, playing mainly with her iconic face, designed in a very recognizable neoclassic style, reminiscent of Greek and Roman classic architecture, as well as Renaissance frescoes. Fornasetti's legacy was preserved by his son Barnaba Fornasetti who took over the company and the creative direction in 1988. The reason why this very teapot is so unique and so rare is that it was made prior to the transfer of the entire production of Fornasetti porcelain objects to Rosenthal Germany in 1995 for a more international "mass market" manufacturing.

This is a FIRST EDITION. Crafted and decorated by hand in Florence, this teapot is a classic Ginori design with the very distinctive finial "ring knob" (which is totally different from the Rosenthal production).

Furthermore, the top rim and lid are both anodized in glossy gold, as the "mass market" Rosenthal production is generally finished in mat gold and the lid remains white. On the bottom, the Fornasetti "Tema e Variazoni" stamp (including the "Made in Italy" by Fornasetti Milano) plus the iconic Lina Cavalieri eye are printed on top of the green Ginori logo. This teapot is in mint condition, with no chips, cracks, crazing or scratches as it was never used.

Only a very limited serie of Julia teapots was produced by Richard Ginori before manufacturing was transferred to Rosenthal in Germany. Very few of these early Fornasetti teapots are in circulation, some being displayed in a few design museums across the world, some like this one are privately owned.

And now, it could be yours!