The two vases and the plate offered belong to a limited edition of ‘lava glaze’ ceramic objects commissioned by the prominent Dutch department store ‘De Bijenkorf’ and were manufactured by Bitossi (Montelupo) around 1958. Price is for the set of 3.
Beautiful; one very small fleebite on the rim of the largest vase (see last picture).
 
Diameter: 9.84 in. (25 cm) plate; 4.33 in. (11 cm) large vase; 3.34 in. (8,5 cm) small vase.
Height: 2.36 in. (6 cm) plate; 6.29 in. (16 cm) large vase; 5.90 in. (15 cm) small vase.
 
Ettore Sottsass Jr. (1917-2007) ranks among the greatest designers of the 20th century. As a graduate from the Politecnico di Torino, Sottsass opened his own design studio in Milano in 1947. During his long lasting career Sottsass designed a large variety of objects, ranging form architecture to art glass and from office equipment to jewelery. Over the years Sottsass kept reinventing himself without ever losing his highly personal style, which can be characterized as colourful, mystical and multicultural. These qualities were already manifest in his early work from the 1950’s. Sottsass’ most outstanding - and nowadays highly collectable - pieces from this period are without a doubt his lighting designs for Arredoluce and his ceramics for Bitossi.
 
Literature - F. Ferrari, Ettore Sottsass: Tutta La Ceramica (Torino 1996), p.41, for similar models from this series.