Among the products made by Richard-Ginori are also corporate promotional items, such as this ashtray shaped like a ship, made of porcelain painted in black and red. It is an actual gadget of the New York-based shipping company American Export Lines, which – from 1919 until its bankruptcy in 1977 – connected the eastern coast of the United States with the Mediterranean, offering both cargo and passenger services.
Comprised of a parallelepiped-shaped base, open on one side to allow the insertion of a cigarette pack, the ashtray featured a dedicated slot for a matchbox. The whole piece was completed in the center by a cylindrical ship’s funnel perforated at the base. When lit cigarettes were rested on the two recessed rails and inserted into this hole, the smoke would rise and disperse through the chimney.
The production of items bearing the logos of shipping companies, hotels, restaurants, bars, and all kinds of venues is very common throughout the history of Manifattura Ginori’s output. Modern examples of ashtrays with the logos of Fiat, Cinzano, Alitalia, and other Italian companies are well known; these were likely used as gifts for customers or as decorative elements for offices and single-brand stores.
The Ginori Museum also preserves some plaques with examples of decoration for commissioned sets, as was done for porcelain services for the Adriatica, Cosulich, Lloyd Triestino, NGI, and Italia companies.
