This is a very rare piece of vintage 1960s Italian studio pottery.
It is an Aldo Londi piece taking the form of a large table lamp.
It is tubular in form with a more slender tube forming the base - and a wider tube forming the main body section - with sloping shoulders - meeting another finer tubular section which contains the original heavy brass bulb holder.
The ceramic lamp is decorated with a rich Rimini Blue glaze and with the rare Pesce or Fish pattern consisting of sponged and hand-painted abstract fish decorations.
Aldo Londi (1911-2003) was a painter, sculptor and ceramic artist. He was born in Montelupo Fiorentino. At the age of eleven, he started working for the influential Fanciullacci’s manufacturing, where he learned many traditional techniques in making pottery.
After the war, he became Art Director of the famous Bitossi family ceramics studio in Montelupo. He promoted the production of new high-quality objects made by using handcrafted methods. His most famous lines of pottery were ‘Rimini blu’, ‘Mondrian’, ‘Lobster’, ‘Sivilla’ and ‘Etrusca’. His pots were distributed widely by the Raymor Company, which was one of the most influential importers and distributors of modern decorative arts during the middle of the twentieth century.
These fish or pesces table lamps are exceptionally rare and this is reflected in my asking price. Probably an item for the more specialist Bitossi collector or design museum.
It is marked with underglaze production details painted on the base, as photographed. I have removed carefully the original grey fabric base so that you can see the painted mark on the base. This is still intact and can be easily re-applied.
The lamp takes a continental screw-in bulb (not a bayonet one). It has recently been fully-rewired with appropriate period style cables etc - it has a finger switch to allow you to switch the lamp on and off easily. All fine and ready to just plug in and use.
I have taken a lot of images for you to assess the piece fully.
I also have a rare oblong open dish in my store with a similar fish pattern on it.
Dimensions: the height of the lamp to top of the ceramic section is 16 3/4 inches (42cm). The height to the top of the bulb holder is 19 1/4 inches (49cm) and the diameter at the width part is just over 5 inches (12.5 cm). Weight is 3.3 kg (unpacked).
UK POSTAGE ONLY. It will cost £14 to post to you with Parcelforce (tracked and fully insured in transit). This will be applied to your order at the checkout stage.