C20Ceramics

Oct 7

Noritake Australiana, Blue Wren & Golden Wattle c1920s

Early 20th Century Noritake design always captivates me with their bright, saturated colours.

Equally fascinating are the designs Noritake produced specifiably for the Australian market – previously I have posted about the charming “Kookaburra” design.

I recently came across a tea set in this design – “Blue Wren & Golden Wattle” which has the backstamp which was used in the late 1920s.

The blue wren has the same pink and blue hues used in one of the variations of the Kookaburra design and again features the golden wattle flower. As far as I can deduce – the blue wren design pre dates the Kookaburra design by about a decade.

Sep 27

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Coccia Italy

I came across the first piece below earlier this year. It’s a maker I haven’t seen previously – but I was captivated by the piece.

The bowl is obviously Italian with such a delightful hand painted design, made from earthenware and cased in red leather. It is a form and style popular in Italy in the 1950s – and is most probably from the Florentine or San Marino region.

It is signed “Coccia” – but extensive searching has come up with no information about this maker – including whether it is a person or company by that name. The facebook group Midcentury Italian Ceramics and Bitossi Collectors have seen this signature on a few pieces, but again – no information has come to light about the Italian Pottery signed “Coccia”…..so if you know anything about Coccia I would love to know.

Pieces from this maker come up from time to time online, and they usually have a very similar style and painting technique….which bears a resemblance to the style often used by Fantoni. I have included a few of them below:

Coccia Italy – Photo Ray Garrod

Coccia Italy

SICA Italy

Its always great to find out the maker of an item to give it more context and place in history. I had the striking modernist design plate for several years before selling it recently, and have recently found out its maker – SICA, Italy.

The information about its origin came thanks to the very well run facebook group Midcentury Italian Ceramic & Bitossi Collectors

The piece turns out to be made by SICA – Società Italiana Ceramica Artistica – which was founded in Nove, in the province of Vicenza in 1946. It split into 2 companies in 1969 after which the company split into “S.I.C.A.R.T” and “C.A.I.”. They produced a wide range or wares – often mistaken or misattributed as Bitossi – especially the figurines.

The example I had was part of the SICA production.

You can see a wide cross section of the wares made on the facebook group on this page

My favourites though are the modernist designs like the ones below which remind me so much of the painting and artwork of the 1960s.