■ "LA GIOSTRA" CENTREPIECE, designed 1987 by Lino Sabattini and produced by Argenteria Sabattini, Bregnano, Como, Italy, the circular silver-plated brass dish raised on a slender rim, interrupted at the four cardinal points by polished spheres set astride the rim and half-submerged in its line - the rotary suggestion giving the model its name (giostra, the Italian for carousel). The economy of the geometry and the sculptural wit of the intersecting spheres characteristic of Sabattini's mature work at the head of his own argenteria.
Good condition, light patina and surface tarnishing consistent with age and use. Diameter 38 cm (15 inches); height 3.8 cm (1 ½ inches).
The underside impressed with the Sabattini Italy manufacturer's mark and facsimile signature.
Lino Sabattini (Desenzano del Garda, 1925 - Bregnano, 2016) was one of the pre-eminent figures in twentieth-century Italian silver and metalware. Largely self-taught, his early work attracted the attention of Gio Ponti, who published him in Domus and secured his appointment as artistic director at Christofle, Paris, from 1956 to 1963; in 1964 he established Argenteria Sabattini at Bregnano, where he worked until his death.
Compare:
□ Works by the artist in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.