Designer: Piero Fornasetti (1913 – 1988)

Item: Cravattini Glove Box with Bowtie Decoration

Manufactured by: Barnaba Fornasetti (b. 1950)

Country of origin: Italy

Year made: Designed in about 1950 by Piero Fornasetti, this example was made in 1995 after his death.

Materials: Steel, wood, silkscreen printed images, paint and felt.

Dimensions: 1 ¼” x 11 ¾” x 4”

Condition: Excellent.

References: Fornasetti, Barnaba, Fornasetti: The Complete Universe, Rizzoli (2010).

Description: Here is a vintage Fornasetti glove box with the famous Cravattini or Bowtie decoration on top. This decoration started appearing in about 1950. After Piero Fornasetti’s death in 1988, his son Barnaba continued the business and began applying the year made to the objects produced, also with artist’s initials and the number from the edition on each piece produced. However, these were made in limited numbers.  It is dated ’95 for 1995, and is number 3 from an unknown but likely very small edition that year.  The sliding wooden box was made with the earlier dovetail corners used exclusively during Piero’s lifetime for these boxes. Sometime in the 1990s the company ran out of the previously manufactured dovetailed corner boxes.  This has its original felt bottom and authentic round Fornasetti label.  Vintage boxes with this design are getting very hard to find. We have priced this as a vintage item, which it is, but less than a work made during Piero’s lifetime, which command higher prices.