Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2008) was born in Innsbruck, Austria. He studied architecture in Turin, Italy, and opened a studio there in 1947.

He was a design consultant for Olivetti from 1958 to 1989, where he created the memorable Elea 9003 calculator and the famous red portable typewriter, commonly referred to as the Valentine typewriter, because it was released on Valentine's Day in 1969.

In the 1970s he designed housewares for Alessi, a decanter for Baccarat, a chair for Knoll and carpet for Namastre.

In the 1980s he was a founder and leading figure of Memphis, a Milan-based design group famous for brightly colored post-modern furniture, lighting and ceramics. The collection  included works in glass, acrylic, aluminum and tropical wood. His Tahiti lamp from this period looks like a tropical bird with a long yellow neck and red beak.

Sottsass was known for his playfulness, his wit and his whimsical ornamentation, but he said, "Memphis is like a very strong drug. You cannot take too much. It's like eating only cake." Even he would probably say of this room, "Out of control!"

From latimes.com and nytimes.com

Memphis design
thecultureconcept.com

Valentine typewriter for Olivetti by Sottsass and Perry King
moma.org

Enorme phone
icollector.com

Tahiti lamp
memphis-milano.com

Knoll Mandarin chairs
1stdibs.com

Tartar console
artfindings.com

Custom headboard with drawers
latimes.com

Nine-O chairs for Emeco
dezeen.com

Olabuenaga House - Hawaii, USA
architectureweek.com

Wolf House - Colorado, USA
designbybone.co.uk

Jasmine Hill House - Singapore
selfselector.co.uk

Casa Cei - Tuscany, Italy
panoramio.com

I found this brief video to be an interesting look into Sottsass's life and career.

youtube.com
Uploaded by DesignPublic - June 9, 2008

Memphis

Memphis was a collective of 20-something designers who were based in Milan, Italy, and led by Ettore Sottsass, then in his 60s. The group formed in late 1980 and originally consisted of  Martine Bedin, Aldo Cibic, Michele De Lucchi, Matteo Thun and Marco Zanini, George Sowden and Nathalie du Pasquier, along with writer Barbara Radice.

The project was first called The New Design, but when Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again)" kept sticking on Sottsass's record player at the phrase "Memphis blues again," they decided to change the name to Memphis.

Their goal was to free themselves of modernist doctrine by employing industrial materials, as well as gaudy colors and kitschy geometric and leopard skin designs, generally found in 1950s comic books or cheap diners. They often employed spangles and glitter.

Memphis was considered sensational, and people either loved it or hated it. Some saw it as innovative and exciting. The old guard considered it tasteless and of little design value.

By 1985 Sottsass had become disillusioned with Memphis and the media circus surrounding it, so he announced that he was leaving the collective but continued to work with Branzi, Cibic and De Lucchi.

From design-museum.org

Freemont cabinet by Ettore Sottsass
1stdibs.com

First chair by Michele De Lucchi
1stdibs.com

Dublin sofa by Marco Zanini
1stdibs.com

Belvedere console by Aldo Cibic
1stdibs

D'Antibes cabinet by George Sowden
1stdibs.com

Carlton cabinet by Ettore Sottsass
1stdibs.com

Memphis Group in the Tawaraya boxing ring conversation pit in 1981
nytimes.com

Bitossi for Raymor...marked or unmarked?

Guido Bitossi founded Manifattura Cavaliere Bitossi e Fioglia in 1921. The family had been involved in making roof tiles for centuries, and the 1921 enterprises added floor tiles, household ceramic items and art pottery to the line. During World War II, the Bitossi factory escaped bombing, and when they war ended, they began exporting art pottery to American companies like Raymor.

During this early period of 1921 through the 1950s, Bitossi ceramics used the painted mark of a capital letter "B" followed by a period or sometimes an underscored capital letter "B: with or without a period.

That said, many pieces of Bitossi are unmarked. Quite often large and important importers would request that the manufacturer's name be omitted so that consumers would not be able to obtain them anywhere else. This was, and still is, quite common and is the reason so much Italian pottery goes unidentified. 

Sometimes importers might actually own the design rights to a line of ceramics. Raymor is a good example. Owning the design rights allows the importer to contract with any company or number of companies to produce the wares. An importer might have two or more factories producing his line in order to ensure a constant, uninterrupted supply should one factory experience an equipment failure or a worker's strike, which was common in post-war Italy.

Experts readily admit, as does the Bitossi company, that many early pieces left the factory without the Bitossi mark. Mid-century pieces and marked as such are collectible and relatively expensive. Such pieces, whether created by Londi, Fornasetti, Sottsass, Rashid or other great 20th century designers, are works or art.

However, if an item is not clearly marked, it is probably best not to spend a large sum of money on it. Ceramiche Bitossi is willing to help the collector.  If you send a photo to the company, they will authenticate the piece for you.

From a post by Walter Del Pellegrino on italianpotterymarks.freeforums.org 

George Nelson Meridian drink tables made by Bitossi for Raymor, 1950s

Aldo Londi, Bitossi (blue pieces in his Rimini Blu glaze)
modish.net

Aldo Londi, Bitossi for Raymor
modish.net

Aldo Londi, Bitossi for Raymor
modish.net

Bitossi multicolor ceramics
hiandlomodern.com