Alzata The gentle activities
Gio Ponti
The shape of this compote, described by Gio Ponti himself in a letter dated July 13, 1924, as a ‘baluster cup,’ dates back to 1923 and is here combined with the decoration Le Attività gentili in red and gold figures, designed by Gio Ponti in the same year for the International Biennial of Decorative Arts in Monza.
It depicts six allegories of human activities and, at the center, the progenitors of the species. The more extensive version of the decoration was created in blue and gold, for a plate of which one example is at the Ginori Museum (inv. 3514). In addition to traditional arts, the eighteen original representations include modern activities such as aviation; however, identifying each allegory is not straightforward; among those present on the cup are architecture, floriculture, and beekeeping. At the 1925 Paris exhibition, purchasers received an explanatory card detailing their meaning, but unfortunately no copy is known to exist. The figures on the small plate were also used individually or in groups to decorate other objects.
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Gio Ponti, Alzata "Le attività gentili"
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Alzata The Gentle Activities
The shape of this compote, described by Gio Ponti himself in a letter dated July 13, 1924, as a ‘baluster cup,’ dates back to 1923 and is here combined with the decoration Le Attività gentili in red and gold figures, designed by Gio Ponti in the same year for the International Biennial of Decorative Arts in Monza.
It depicts six allegories of human activities and, at the center, the progenitors of the species. The more extensive version of the decoration was created in blue and gold, for a plate of which one example is at the Ginori Museum (inv. 3514). In addition to traditional arts, the eighteen original representations include modern activities such as aviation; however, identifying each allegory is not straightforward; among those present on the cup are architecture, floriculture, and beekeeping. At the 1925 Paris exhibition, purchasers received an explanatory card detailing their meaning, but unfortunately no copy is known to exist. The figures on the small plate were also used individually or in groups to decorate other objects.
