1808 - Gio Ponti "Putto con cane" Bowl

Gio Ponti "Putto con cane" Bowl Sesto Fiorentino, ca. 1925. Richard-Ginori, Manifattura di Doccia. Designed by Gio Ponti (1891–1979) from the “La Conversazione classica” series created around 1924/25, “Putto con cane” motif. Majolica, hand-painted. Hemispherical bowl on a footring; the rim and footring are glazed yellow and accented with black-and-white fillets. Painted in ochre and brown with fine cross-hatching on a cobalt-blue background: a putto playing with a greyhound on a light-blue ribbon; on the reverse side, a figure with a cloth reaching into a large storage jar; both set against a foreshortened plate base. On the interior, a medallion depicting a lidded urn on a yellow diamond-patterned background. Marked in black on the base: “Ginori” with a stylized crown, “1033 - 14c,” and “Gio Ponti.” Height 13 cm, diameter 27.5 cm L. Manna, *Gio Ponti. Le maioliche*, Milan 2000, no. 76, p. 210; Company catalog Società Ceramica Richard-Ginori, *Ceramiche moderne d’arte*, Milan 1930, p. 88; exhibition catalog *Gio Ponti. Il fascino della ceramica*, Milan 2011, p. 126. “La Conversazione classica” is one of the most significant decorative cycles designed by Gio Ponti during his tenure as artistic director of the Richard-Ginori factory in Doccia (1923–1933). The composition combines allegorical and classical-style figures—including representations of the arts—with architectural elements on a perspectival, geometrically ornamented background. The design was presented in 1925 at both the Monza Biennale and the International Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Paris. Auction date: November 27, 2026 Approximate auction time: 10:26 a.m. CET