Like a Fellini movie, the ceramics of the famed Italian company Bitossi Ceramiche embody a creative spectrum that ranges from the playful and earthy to the high-minded and provocative. Based in Florence, Bitossi draws on craft traditions that date back to the 1500s. These find expression in Bitossi pottery that includes artisanal vintage vases and animal figures by the firm’s longtime art director Aldo Londi, as well as the colorful, totemic vessels designed by the high priest of postmodernism, Ettore Sottsass.
Bitossi was incorporated by Guido Bitossi in 1921, though the family began making art pottery in the mid-19th century. In the 1930s, Londi came aboard, bringing with him a mindset that respected time-honored craft, yet looked also to the future. On the one hand, Londi’s perspective fostered the making of Bitossi’s popular whimsical cats, owls, horses and other animal figures, hand-shaped and -carved and finished in a rich azure glaze known as “Rimini Blue.”
But with his other hand, Londi reached out to thoughtful, experimental designers such as Sottsass. After hiring Sottsass to design ceramics for his New York imports company, Raymor, American entrepreneur Irving Richards connected the Milanese design polymath to Londi, who introduced Sottsass to ceramics in the 1950s.
During that decade, some 20 years before he founded the Memphis postmodern design collective in Milan, Sottsass used the Bitossi kilns to create timeless works that manifest both primitive forms and modern geometries. In later decades, Bitossi would welcome new generations of designers, which have included such names as Ginevra Bocini and Karim Rashid.
While always looking forward, Bitossi is firm in their belief that mastery of craft is the first step towards beautiful design. As you will see from the works offered on these pages, that is a winning philosophy.
Find a collection of vintage Bitossi decorative objects, lighting and serveware on 1stDibs.
Lapis Beige Travertine Vase by Elisa Ossino
By Editions Milano
Located in Milan, IT
The Lapis vase by Elisa Ossino features a medium-sized, rounded silhouette crafted from travertine stone, characterized by its natural rough texture and porous surface. Its earthy be...
Marble
Isola Collection - Beige Ceramic Side Table by Zaven
By Bitossi
Located in Milan, IT
A refined side table measuring 32 cm high, 45 cm wide, and 30 cm deep, featuring a distinctive ceramic form with elegant wave-like contours. Part of the Isola collection, this piece ...
Ceramic
Merlate Beige Ceramic Night Table by Patricia Urquiola
By Bitossi
Located in Milan, IT
Night table measuring 50 cm in height with a distinctive architectural design inspired by industrial building elements. Its textured surface and irregular, sculptural form evoke the ...
Ceramic
White Ceramic Vase with Lid by Benjamin Humbert
By Bitossi
Located in Milan, IT
The White Ceramic Vase features a refined cylindrical silhouette measuring 33 cm in height and 15 cm in diameter, finished in a smooth white ceramic. This piece is part of the canist...
Ceramic
Large Beige Organic Ceramic Vase Sculpture by Faye Toogood
By Bitossi
Located in Milan, IT
Scultura by faye toogood large beige organic ceramic vase sculpture, measuring 70 cm high by 34 cm long, features fluid, nature-inspired forms with textured surfaces that reference o...
Ceramic
Curve Red Ceramic Vase #4 by Zaven
By Bitossi
Located in Milan, IT
A daring combination of concavities and convexities traces the dynamic profiles of this coral-red ceramic vase, an exclusive piece brimming with sculptural flair. Part of the Curve &...
Ceramic
21st Century Fading Gradient Beige Ceramic Mumbai Vase Handcrafted, Italy
By Chiara Ravaioli
Located in Ravenna, IT
The Mumbai Vase is part of the Mitti Vases collection, presented at the Milan Design Week Fuorisalone 2021 edition and designed after a trip to India. The collection explores diffe...
Ceramic, Abalone, Porcelain, Stoneware
Organic Shape, Plain Beige Contemporary Ceramic Vase by Willem Van Hooff
Located in Geneve, CH
Big Efir Vase by Willem Van Hooff Dimensions: W 65 x D 10 x H 42 cm (Dimensions may vary as pieces are hand-made and might present slight variations in sizes) Material: Glazed ceramics. Core is a serie of vessels. Inspired by prehistoric african building techniques. I have been fascinated by vessels they have such a clear and easy function. There function is to hold and transport water. But besides that it has been an canvas for humanity to express themselves with. When I started to express myself through this object, a new form of language came out. I wanted to challenge the contour of a vessels by bringing them out of balance. Each vessel contains a hidden chamber...
Ceramic
Montée, Beige Hand-Painted Ceramic Sculpture, Contemporary Design, Made in Italy
By Simona Cardinetti
Located in Paris, IDF
A striking exploration of geometric balance and contemporary ceramic artistry, the Montée Ceramic Sculpture by transforms stacked architectural forms into a collectible decorative ob...
Ceramic
Beige Sculptural Italian Ceramic Vase by Bertoncello, coral/chimney shape
By Bertoncello
Located in Hamburg, DE
Step back in time to the artistic atmosphere of the 1960s with this remarkable sculptural pique fleurs vase, handcrafted by Bertoncello Ceramiche D’Arte in Italy. This vase, adorned ...
Ceramic
Handmade Abstract Sculptural White Ceramic Large Vase by Maku Ceramic
Located in Geneve, CH
Handmade Abstract Sculptural White Ceramic Large Vase by Maku Ceramic Dimensions: H 38.1 cm Materials: Ceramic, Stoneware, Clay Maku Ceramic is an Istanbul-based ceramic studio foun...
Ceramic, Clay, Stoneware
Handmade Abstract Sculptural White Ceramic Large Vase by Maku Ceramic
Located in Geneve, CH
Handmade Abstract Sculptural White Ceramic Large Vase by Maku Ceramic Dimensions: H 38.1 cm Materials: Ceramic, Stoneware, Clay Maku Ceramic is an Istanbul-based ceramic studio foun...
Ceramic, Clay, Stoneware
