20th C. "Bassorilievo" Tray attr. Piero Fornasetti

Piero Fornasetti spent his career translating the classical world into objects for the modern table, and the Bassorilievo tray is among his most archaeologically minded. The pattern reproduces a scene from an ancient Etruscan alabaster funerary urn depicting warriors at the Siege of Thebes, rendered through lithographic transfer print to read as carved stone relief. The border mimics a Neoclassical frieze with repeating coffers and molding. The tray body is enameled metal, the surface finished in a mottled grey-brown that deepens the stone illusion considerably. Rounded corners, a broad rim. The Fornasetti Atelier in Milan applied this pattern across several formats; the enameled tray is among the more functional.

Style: Italian Surrealist, Neoclassical
Materials & Techniques: Enameled metal, lithographic transfer print
Place of Origin: Milan, Italy
Period: c. 1970s