The sketch depicts a rare vase with lid (mod. 1006, decor 185) belonging to the series ‘Le mie donne’, designed by Gio Ponti exclusively for artistic majolica between 1923 and 1927, in the variants featuring clouds, ropes, and flowers. Only one example of this model is known, currently in a private collection.
The vase is illustrated in the first Ceramiche moderne d’arte Richard-Ginori catalog, Milan [n.d.], dating to around 1925-1926, p. 19, but does not appear in the subsequent 1930 edition. It can be assumed that the design dates back to the period when Ponti was working on objects to be exhibited at the 1925 Milan and Paris shows.
The design is not detailed because, as can also be seen from the pencil-sketched detail, in this case the author intended to indicate to whoever was to carry out the decoration how to execute the blue sky background, with well-marked diagonal brushstrokes. Ponti carefully followed the development and execution of his ideas in Doccia, despite his studio being in Milan. The close collaborative relationship with the Sesto factory and in particular with Luigi Tazzini, head of artistic productions at Doccia, is fortunately documented by correspondence that is still preserved in the Museum’s archive.
