Go to the Commemoratives Page
Go to the Main Menu
 
Fornasetti Decorated Insulators

What designs did they come in?
     According to Mauriès (1991, p. 280), Piero Fornasetti made paperweights with electrical insulators in 16 designs although the later and more extensive work by the son of Piero Fornasetti, Barnaba Fornasetti (2010), indicates in her book that insulator-shaped paperweights were "produced in thirty-one designs" (p. 560, also p. 678).    Unfortunately, no pictures of these could be found in the comprehensive and illustrated work by Mauriès and only a few designs were shown scattered throughout Barnaba Fornasetti's book (a Calendar and one showing a candlestick phone on page 561; calendars on page 588; a full page showing a pole with goose-neck pins and insulators with designs of butterflies, calendars, and the NATO alphabet on page 672). Luckily, Fornasetti marked many of his insulators and used the same theme and illustrations for many of the objects he decorated, so his works are easy to spot.
    Listed below, then, are the known designs to me.  There are variations to these designs but I am assuming that these variations would not be counted as separate designs.  These designs can be labeled as 1). Calendars, 2). NATO Alphabet, 3). The New Key to Dreams, 4). Clocks,  5). Fishing, 6). Pipe smoking, 7) Musical Instruments and 8) Butterflies.

What insulators were used?
    It's likely that the insulators Fornasetti used were made by Richard Ginori and may have never been used on a line.  In the foreword to Mauriès book (1991, p. 5), Wilk writes that "Fornasetti ceramics are, in fact, blank forms designed and made by the firms of Eschenback or Richard Ginori, among others, with Fornasetti decoration applied." Since Eschenback did not make insulators and Richard Ginori did, Ginori seems a likely source.  The insulators used are U-1668 and U-1714.
     Another theory is that the insulators were made by Rosenthall since they are listed as a "Licensee Company" (Fornasetti, 2010, p. 684). This theory is much less likely, even though Rosenthal made insulators. First, the company is based in Selb, Germany whereas Richard Ginori's factory was in the same country (Italy) as Piero Fornasetti. Strengthening this argument, the insulators were marked by Fornasetti with "Made in Italy." Although this could just refer to the decoration, it seems unlikely Rosenthal would be a licensee if all they did was send the insulator to Fornasetti. Second, the date listed for the license is 1990s and any of the insulators with dates are dated well before this.

How were they made?
    To make decorated insulators like Fornasetti did, low temperature glazes and ceramic decals are applied to insulators that have previously been fired at high temperatures.  Also while gas or oil kilns are used to reach the high temperatures needed to make electrical porcelain, electric kilns are generally used for this low temperature work because the temperature can be controlled better and there are fewer contaminants from the fuel (Peters, p. 15).  The decals are fired to between cone 020-014 (Peters, p. 69).  Previously glazed and fired porcelain is used so because the decal needs a smooth surface in order to adhere (Peters, p. 68).
    To make the decal, a screen of the desired image is created.  This is a process much like making a photograph from a negative (Healey, p. 27).  The screen is then used to print the image on a special piece of paper, which, once dry is applied to the ceramic object and fired.

Who was Fornasetti?
    Piero Fornasetti was born in 1913 and from the time he was twenty-two until his death in 1988, he lived and worked in Milan applying his designs to a range of decorative objects that he thought never went out of fashion including hats, waistcoats, pipes, ashtrays, chairs, cabinets, pianos, shops, racing cars and ocean liners.  His style was based on "illusionism, architectural perspectives and a host of personal leitmotifs, such as the sun, playing cards, fish, and flowers from which he spun seemingly endless variations."  (Mauriès 1991, front jacket)
    In applying gold trim and decals to an industrial object, Fornasetti was challenging the notion that form follows function but, instead, form or, in this case, a decoration can be added to an object to create "varying degrees of irony, wit and tension" making people rethink the way they looked at the world (Wilk in Mauriès 1991, p. 5).
    In the 1980s, his work enjoyed popularity among both consumers and designers.

Calendars On a U-1668, there is gold trim on the crown and side wire. The top wire groove is not trimmed The crown decal says "HAPPY 1957." The skirt decal has a calendar for 1957.  Note that the days are ordered in columns from top to bottom rather than across in rows.  Signs of the Zodiac are also depicted. Inside the pinhole is a decal of a hand holding a brush above the words FORNASETTI-MILANO M A D E   I N   I T A L Y Other versions of this include: 1. On a U-1668.  (Crown decal) HAPPY 1956 (Skirt decal) [Calendar with Zodiac symbols] (Pinhole decal) [Hand holding a brush]/FORNASETTI - MILANO/MADE IN ITALY 2. On a U-1668.  (Crown decal) HEUREUX 1959 (Skirt decal) [Calendar with Italian spellings and Zodiac symbols] (Pinhole decal) [Hand holding a brush]/FORNASETTI - MILANO/MADE IN ITALY 3.  On a U-1668.  (Crown decal) HAPPY 1958 (Skirt decal) [Calendar with Zodiac symbols] (Pinhole decal) FOMOS ETI MILANO/MADE IN ITALY.  This version was first reported by Gregg Gibbs of Garden Grove, California (see Tod, May 1969 and Tod, July 1974). 4.  On a U-1714.  Crown and side wire groove gold trim.  The top wire groove is not trimmed.  (Crown decal) HAPPY 1964 (Skirt decal) [Calendar with numbers running top to bottom rather than left to right] {Note: There are no Zodiac symbols} {Note: There is no pinhole decal}

NATO Alphabet On a U-1668, the top and side wire groove is trimmed in gold. The decal around the crown says "FOR YOUR MESSAGES...." while the skirt decal lists the words to use to represent each letter of the alphabet as officially adopted by NATO. On the top is a compass with the letters N, A, T, and O (NATO). Other versions of this which are shown include: 1.  Same as above except with red lettering, an extra gold band above the crown decal and the decal is on the inside of the outer skirt.  This version was first reported by Margaret Oveson of North Grafton, Massachusetts (Oveson, September 1969). 2.  Gold trimmed dome and side wire groove but not the top wire groove.  (Crown decal) CICAESA=MILANO=92900-932176 (Skirt decal) [Words to use to represent each letter of the Italian alphabet, e.g., "A come ANCONA, B come BARI, C come Como". (Pinhole decal) [Hand holding a brush]/FORNASETTI - MILANO/MADE IN ITALY

The New [Key] to Dreams On a U-1668, the top and side wire groove are trimmed in gold. Around the crown is a decal that says, "The new [picture of a key] to Dreams". Symbols such as a lock, a ring, a know, a knife, and a tree are shown on the skirt along with the interpretation of what the symbol means in a dream. Inside the pinhole is a decal of a hand holding a brush above the words FORNASETTI-MILANO M  A  D  E    I  N    I  T  A  L  Y Other versions of this include: 1. Same as above except the  colors of the symbols are different. 2. (Crown decal) ″Nouvelle [picture of a key] des Songesٍ (Skirt decal) [Dream symbols with a one-word interpretation in Italian underneath each symbol] (Pinhole decal) [Hand holding a brush]/FORNASETTI - MILANO/MADE IN ITALY 3. (Crown decal) LA NUOVA [picture of a key] DEI SOGNI· (Skirt decal) [Dream symbols with a one-word interpretation in Italian beside each symbol] (Pinhole decal) [Hand holding a brush]/FORNASETTI - MILANO/MADE IN ITALY

Clocks The dome and the side wire grooves are trimmed with gold but the top wire groove is not. Various clocks are depicted around the skirt. There is no Fornasetti logo decal on the inner skirt. This version uses a different insulator.  The decal is attached to a U-1714.

Fishing Hooks, a lure, a bamboo rod, a wicker basket, and a spool of line are pictured on the skirt. The dome and side wire groove are trimmed in gold but the top wire groove is not. There is no Fornasetti label on the inner skirt. This version uses a different insulator.  The decal is attached to a U-1714.

Pipe Smoking U-1714 with gold trimmed wire groove and crown (except for the saddle groove). Pictures on the skirt decal include a pipe (shown to the left), pocket watch, and pocket knife (perhaps to clean the bowl of the pipe).

Butterflies This piece showed up on an eBay auction that ended November 30, 2002 and ended with a bid of  $171.65.

References

Albers, Marilyn, and Jack H. Tod.  (1982).  Worldwide Porcelain Insulators.  Houston, TX: Privately printed.

Evans, Bruce  “Research Division.” Insulators: Crown Jewels of the Wire 6.3 (May 1974): 29.

Fornasetti, Barnaba (ed.). (2010). Fornasetti: The Compete Universe. New York: NY: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.

Healy, Kay.  (1985).  Make Your Own Ceramic Decals: A Complete Handbook.  Indianapolis, IN: American Art Clay Co., Inc. 

Mauriès, Patrick.  (1991).  Fornasetti: Designer of Dreams .  Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Forward by Christopher Wilk.

Oveson, Margaret.  “Research Division.” Insulators: Crown Jewels of the Wire 1.7 (September 1969): 23-24.

Peters, Lynn.  (1999).  Surface Decoration for Low-Fire Ceramics: Slips, Terra Sigillata, Underglazes, Glazes, Maiolica, Decals.  Asheville, NC: Lark Books.

Tod, Jack H.  “Research Division.” Insulators: Crown Jewels of the Wire 1.3 (May 1969): 21.

Tod, Jack H.  “Research Division.” Insulators: Crown Jewels of the Wire 6.5 (July 1974): 29-30.