Basket With Its Pierced And Painted Faience Underplate, Bassanello Italy, Dated February 1964

Refined ensemble consisting of a pierced basket with its round underplate in white faience from the Bassanello manufactory (Civita Castellana, Italy), dated February 1964.

- The round plate bears the date 18 February 1964,

- The basket the date 24 February 1964,both dates being impressed in the clay body. The Bassanello mark is applied under the glaze.

Both pieces, in excellent condition, display a delicate polychrome decoration: fine garlands of flowers and foliage, gracefully “tied” with painted ribbons. The ensemble stands out for the elegance of its pierced forms and the refinement of its decoration.

Note: an identical basket, but without its underplate, is already for saleon Proantic: https://www.proantic.com/1564417-ancien-panier-en-faience-ajouree-et-peinte-bassanello-civita-castellana.html

The Bassanello manufactory was founded in Civita Castellana (Latium) by Marquis Paolo Misciattelli between 1946 and 1949, in the former Barberini stables of the Orsini castle, owned by his family since 1907. Misciattelli, professor of chemistry at the University of Rome, introduced a new dolomitic white clay body, which distinguished Bassanello’s production from the traditional red ceramics of the area.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the manufactory reached its peak, collaborating with major Italian artists and architects such as Marino Mazzacurati, Renato Guttuso, Francesco Del Drago, Tomaso Buzzi, and the sculptor Giulio Francesconi. The creations were characterized by elegant pierced forms, stylized floral motifs, and a constant search for balance between craft tradition and modern sensibility.

The factory remained active until 1978, when it closed permanently, marking the end of a particularly fruitful period for the artistic ceramics of Civita Castellana and Vasanello.