Q: Hello, Dr. Cavo. Are you able to inform me if that is an vintage? I discovered it in my mother and father’ belongings. Thanks. Lori
A: Hello Lori, Your Mid-century ashtray was made by Aldo Londi, a ceramist for the agency of Bitossi within the Italian area of Tuscany. Aldo Londi (1911–2003) was a sculptor, painter, and prolific ceramist who joined Bitossi Ceramiche (ceramics) in 1946 and remained with them for over 50 years. The Bitossi household started their ceramic trade in 1921 and nonetheless produces advantageous ceramic items.
Bitossi was one of many few Italian ceramic factories not destroyed throughout WWII. Early, pre-WWII, ceramic items from Bitossi have been strictly utilitarian (kitchenware and tiles for roofs and flooring) and, when marked, are stamped with the letter “B,” which is usually underlined. Later items, these from the Fifties by the Seventies, have been often marked with the handwritten phrases “Made in Italy,” or just “Italy,” with the “It” in “Italy” showing just like the lowercase Greek letter Pi (πaly); there might also be a handwritten serial quantity. Many items solely had paper labels that had fallen off all through the years.
Aldo Londi specialised in brightly coloured ceramics using hues like turquoise, lime inexperienced, lemon yellow, mustard brown, or any mixture. All of the items are made and coloured by hand. The objects for which Bitossi and Londi are most well-known are their Rimini Blu items, a blue/inexperienced enamel shade used on ceramics adorned with punched designs that embody hashtags, exes, or plus indicators inside a diamond, considerably harking back to a kite. Their fluid-appearing glaze and irregular mixing of colours are one other identifiable characteristic. They made bowls, vases, ashtrays, trinket trays, packing containers, candle stands, and animal collectible figurines, which usually price probably the most.
Your Mid-century Aldo Londi ashtray was made in yellow/brown mustard or a uninteresting turmeric shade. It bears the signature motifs of Bitossi and Aldo Londi: hashtags, plus indicators inside diamonds and exes (X). It’s also signed with the traditional handwritten “Italy.” Though you didn’t present dimensions, one of these ashtray was often made in a seven-inch width by a seven-inch size by one-and-a-half-inch deep format. The value vary for Bitossi/Londi ashtrays varies relying on the situation and shade, with brighter, bolder colours being extra fascinating. In excellent situation, this piece is valued at $150 to $200. An analogous shiny blue or inexperienced piece might promote within the $450 to $600 vary.
Our visitor appraiser is Dr. Anthony Cavo, an authorized appraiser of artwork and antiques and a contributing editor to Kovels Vintage Dealer. Cavo can be the writer of Love Immortal: Vintage Pictures and Tales of Canines and Their Folks.
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