Designer: Lino Sabattini (1925 - 2016)

Item: Cardinale Sterling Silver Bud Vase

Manufactured by: Christofle

Country of origin: Italy/France

Year made: Circa 1956 to 1963

Materials: Sterling Silver

Dimensions: 8” x 2 ¼”

References: Made in Italy: 45 Jahre Design in Silber, Grassimuseum Leipzig, Germany, 1995; Enrico Marelli,Lino Sabattini: Imitations and Craftsmanship, Edizioni Metron, 1979.

Description: Here is an extremely rare sterling silver version of this important piece of 20^thCentury design. We have only seen three other of this design done in sterling silver. Sabattini’s designs executed in sterling silver for Cristofle, where he was the design director from 1956 to 1963, are very scarcely found and we have only seen a few others by him for Christofle in sterling.

This vase is impressed Argento Sterling 940/1000 on the bottom, with the official Italy “lozenge” with the number 569 MI inside. The 569 is for the silver maker Argenteria Cristofle S.p.A. and the MI is for the city Milano, the location of the maker. This example also retains its original foil sticker from Marzari Trieste, which we believe was the retailer located in the Italian city Trieste where it was likely sold originally. This little vase is quite heavy for its size weighing 419 grams or 14.3 ounces. However, we are not sure if the bottom was weighted or not because we cannot see inside. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a sterling silver Sabattini, at a price not much higher than some dealers sell his silver-plated objects.

Condition: Very good with some scratching and scuffs from use and polishing and a very minor dent at the base on one side.