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GIOVANNI DESIMONI CERAMIC MASTERPIECES

GIOVANNI DESIMONI CERAMIC MASTERPIECES

GIOVANNI DESIMONE

Rare Pottery Dinner Service

£1,500

A rare, complete 20-piece Italian studio pottery dinner service by Palermo nobleman Giovanni DeSimone, crafted in signature octagonal forms with soft blue borders. Hand-painted across the set are rich narrative scenes of Sicilian life: fishermen with their catch, couples, rowers, and sunlit Mediterranean architecture. Each piece is signed and numbered to the base. Comprising

6 octagonal dinner plates (25.5cm W)

6 octagonal plates (22.5cm D)

6 smaller octagonal plates (21.5cm D)

1 large platter (33.5cm D)

1 dish (34.5cm W)

A triumph of Italian post-war ceramic art.

Sicilian nobleman Giovanni DeSimone (1930–1991) studied at the famed Faenza Pottery Institute before establishing his Palermo atelier in the 1960s, quickly earning international acclaim for bridging folk tradition with Modernist abstraction. Heavily influenced by Pablo Picasso, with whom he shared a mutual admiration, DeSimone transformed Mediterranean majolica into expressive, joyful canvases.

Complete 20-piece narrative services from his original vintage production are exceedingly rare on the market. Each hand-painted piece functions as an individual artwork while forming a grand, theatrical table installation.

Type: Complete 20-piece studio pottery dinner service

Designer: Giovanni DeSimone (1930–1991)

Origin: Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Period: Vintage Mid-Century (c. 1960s–1970s)

Material: Hand-painted glazed terracotta / Majolica

Set Count: 20 pieces (6x 25.5cm dinner plates, 6x 22.5cm plates, 6x 21.5cm side plates, 1x 33.5cm platter, 1x 34.5cm serving dish)

Markings: Hand-signed “DeSimone Italy” and numbered “03” to base

Condition: Excellent vintage condition