Felice Tosalli, Grebes, Pair of Birds of the Same Species, from the Lenci Manufactory, Turin, 1939. The sculptural group in slip-cast and polychrome-painted terracotta, titled "Tuffetti" (Grebes), consists of two birds of the same species. One bird is perched, and the other is in a vertical position. However, grebes in nature have a different appearance than that depicted here. The wild birds described by Tosalli are Tachybaptus ruficollis, little grebes, diving birds with long beaks and slender bodies, featuring double crests and brown and black tufts on their heads, which open during danger or courtship.
Italian artist Felice Tosalli (1883–1958) created this polychrome ceramic group, which bears the Lenci, Turin, 1939 manufacturer's mark on the bottom. However, compared to other creations by Tosalli, these two birds exhibit simplified plumage and anatomical details, yet they still retain all the unique characteristics of the species. Ceramics were introduced into the factory's collection in the mid-1930s, but the sculptor had already worked on similar pieces in the 1920s. Due to its success, this new ceramic invention was chosen by "Domus" magazine to illustrate the new proposals presented by Lenci at the Sixth Triennale of Milan in 1936. It reappeared a few months later in the same magazine in an article promoting Italian ceramic production in anticipation of the 1937 Paris Exposition. Tosalli's group, added by Lenci to the merchandise catalog already published between 1933 and 1935, also appears in a colorful advertising booklet from the 1950s. In good condition, apart from minor losses to the tips of the plumage, see photographic details. Lenci, Turin, 1939.
Period: 1939
Height: 34.2 cm
Width: 23 cm
Depth: 22 cm
