Rare Art Deco ceramic in glazed luster in the shape of a coral bush. Signed R.Gatti Faenza.

Beautiful and rare Art Deco ceramic from the 1930s, founder of the Art Deco manufactory of the same name. This is a futuristic design ceramic whose glaze luster, in ruby red/burgundy tones, features luminescent metallic reflections that follow the particular jagged but sinuous shapes of the coral branches. The ceramic sculpture is 56 cm high and the diameter of the base is approximately 22 cm. Presence of the R. Gatti Faenza signature inside. The sculpture is in excellent overall condition, but has a lack in one of the protuberances of the lower part. (see photos 3 and 4) Riccardo Gatti's Biography: Born in 1886, Florentine by birth but Faenza by adoption, Riccardo Gatti began his activity as a ceramicist together with other young talents of Domenico Baccarini's circle. He attended the School of Arts and Crafts of the Romagna city as a student of Virginio Minardi at whose ceramic factory, the "Minardi Ceramiche", he began working producing works in Decò style. Between 1909 and 1911 he studied in Florence at the Academy of Fine Arts and in 1913 he moved to Rome. In 1919 he returned to Faenza and worked at the "Farina" factory, in 1924 he moved to "Faventia Ars", which had taken over "Minardi", and in 1927 he opened a laboratory, the "Bottega Faentina" in Faenza. In 1928 he began, among the first and on the suggestion of the writer Giuseppe Fabbri, a great promoter of Futurist thought, to produce ceramics whose decorations are taken from the cartoons of Giacomo Balla, Mario Guido Dal Monte and Benedetta Cappa Marinetti. He exhibited some of his works at the Milanese exhibition "Trentatre Futuristi" in September 1928 and received the appreciation of Tullio D'Albisola. In October of the same year, other of his works were presented at the "Futurist Exhibition" in Faenza. In 1930 Luigi Montalbini left the manufactory which remained the property of Riccardo Gatti. During the 1930s his production mainly consisted of large vases and large terracotta figures, with metallic lustres. His works won numerous gold medals: in 1932 at the Bologna Exhibition and in 1933 at the Regional Craft Exhibition of Parma. Around 1935 he created some Futurist art ceramics designed by Giacomo Balla and Benedetta Marinetti. He exhibited some works at the VII Craft Exhibition of Florence in 1937 and in 1938 at the International Craft Exhibition of Berlin. After the war, Marcello Morandini, Ico Parisi, Oreste Quattrini, Alberto Burri, Sebastian Matta collaborated with the "Bottega Gatti". His ceramics, some of which are now exhibited at the Ceramic Museum of Faenza, are generally marked with a graphic symbol depicting a stylized cat and the words R. Gatti Faenza. Riccardo Gatti, at 86 years old still active in his Bottega, died suddenly in 1972, in Venice. In Faenza, in the old factory now run by his nephew Dante Servadei, the "Museum of the Gatti Ceramic Workshop" has been set up. We attach a historical guarantee certificate to the sale.