52 - Important VECCHIO FAENZA porcelain service

Important VECCHIO FAENZA porcelain service 1947–1948 Painted by Gabriella La Torre for her daughter Nicoletta La Torre’s trousseau. Gold trim applied later by Mr. Lauret in Paris. Signed Comprising over one hundred pieces: - 30 large dinner plates, diam. 25 cm (one with a chip, three with marks) - 21 dessert plates, diam. 20 cm (one with a chip, some with missing gilding) - 14 soup plates, 25 cm in diameter (one chipped, one with a crack) - 18 half-moon plates, 21 x 12 cm - 17 flower-shaped ramekins - oval serving platter, 46 x 30 cm - round serving platter, 33 cm in diameter - pie plate, 32 cm in diameter (one chip) - pair of small serving bowls, 25 x 15 cm - double-spouted sauceboat on a tray, L: 27 cm - soup tureen with lid, inscribed “Vive la Soupe” on the inside, diameter 22 cm Also included is an unsigned rectangular dish, 33 x 26 cm (cracked), consistent with this set Provenance: Collection of the artist’s family. Assembled under the direction of Fabrizio La Torre, son of Gabriella La Torre, this collection reflects a desire to reconstruct a set that brings together the artist’s archives and pieces produced by Hermès. Gabriella La Torre (Rome, 1894–1976) was a porcelain painter. Over several decades, she developed a distinctive body of work inspired in particular by her love of the decorative arts and antique porcelain, whose designs she studied and collected. Beginning in 1957, she collaborated with Hermès, for which she created numerous designs that gave rise to silk scarves, ready-to-wear pieces, and porcelain objects. Her creative vision gave rise to patterns such as “Insects,” “Flowers and Braids,” “Oranges and Lemons,” “Cherries,” “Roosters,” and “Old China.”