583 - White, green, and red glass on a metal frame. 75 x 39.5 cm. Lower right, in the corner: “Fornaci S. Lorenzo / Chini e CO. / MUGELLO.” While various designs of chandeliers and stained-glass windows from the Chini factory are available on the market today, it is rare to find a piece that exemplifies early 20th-century taste. The Chini family’s ceramics business began in the last decade of the 19th century under Galileo Chini, who, along with several partners, founded the factory L’Arte della Ceramica in Florence in 1896. Shortly thereafter, Pietro, Guido, and Augusto—Galileo’s cousins—joined the Chini factory. A large portion of production was dedicated to architectural tiles—which still adorn many buildings today—as well as stained-glass windows, lamps, and chandeliers. Starting in the 1920s, Tito and Augusto Chini, Chino’s sons, also began working at the factory, bringing a fresh dynamic to the product line. In 1943, the factory was destroyed by an air raid. The difficult reconstruction of the Fornaci San Lorenzo in the postwar years was made possible by the extraordinary dedication of Augusto Chini. In 1956, the factory became Franco Pecchioli Ceramiche, where Augusto served as artistic director until the 1970s, when he was succeeded by his son Vieri; Vieri’s sons, Mattia and Cosimo, currently continue to work at the company. (1) In a wooden frame: 80.4 x 45.4 cm. Some cracks and chips at the corners, concentrated in the lower right and upper left, held together by the frame. Scattered signs of fragility but overall in good condition.