BERTONCELLO ‘SCREZIATO HAVANA’ CHIMNEY VASE

A tall, footed, chimney-form vase with three organic, decorative piercings that double as integrated handles.  Designed by Giovanni Bertoncello for BERTONCELLO CERAMICHE D'ARTE and dressed in the unmistakable 'Screziato Havana' glaze.

BERTONCELLO CERAMICHE D'ARTE was established as LPB in the town of Schiavon in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy in 1956.  Founded by Giovanni Bertoncello and Messrs. Lini and Pizzato, the firm was renamed soon after when Mr. Lini was replaced by Giovanni's brother, Felice Bertoncello.  (Pizzato was a financial backer.)  Giovanni Bertoncello was the creative force behind the company's early designs.  By the early 1970s, his artistic skill and entrepreneurial spirit led BERTONCELLO CERAMICHE to great successes, both in Italy and on the foreign market.  At the height of operations, it employed some 30 staff members.  The well-known artistic innovator Roberto Rigon collaborated with the company in the development of several popular forms and glazes before launching his own ceramics business with wife Maria Luigia and their children.

BERTONCELLO CERAMICHE D'ARTE is most famous for modern, sculptural, organic shapes that often feature rounded, recessed holes and integrated handles.  All items are molded from white clay and many are finished with a signature mottled, brown-and-beige glaze known as 'Screziato' (speckled, dappled).  Unfortunately not much more is known about BERTONCELLO; its catalogs and archives were destroyed when it was shuttered in 1999.