IVO DE SANTIS OWL FIGURINE FOR GLI ETRUSCHI (ITALY)

IVO DE SANTIS OWL FIGURINE FOR GLI ETRUSCHI (ITALY)A 1960s era handmade pottery owl, partially glazed in glossy bright green, with a matt wash of brown on the front and bulging orange eyes, created by Ivo de Santis for the GLI ETRUSCHI pottery workshop in Florence, Italy. This piece is in exceptional condition and is one of the rare few that is actually marked on the bottom with 'GLI ETRUSCHI ITALY.' IVO DE SANTIS opened his pottery studio in Florence, Italy, in the early 1950s and named it GLI

A 1960s-era handmade pottery owl, partially glazed in glossy bright green, with a matt wash of brown on the front and bulging orange eyes, created by Ivo de Santis for the GLI ETRUSCHI pottery workshop in Florence, Italy. This piece is in exceptional condition and is one of the rare few that is actually marked on the bottom with 'GLI ETRUSCHI ITALY.'

IVO DE SANTIS opened his pottery studio in Florence, Italy, in the early 1950s and named it GLI ETRUSCHI (the Etruscans). While there is practically no biographical or historical information to be found on de Santis or his workshop, it is clear that virtually all of the company's exclusively hand-built products were exported to the United States. It is rare to find anything in Italy produced at GLI ETRUSCHI. The work of Ivo de Santis became very popular in the USA, however. In the 1960s and 70s, GLI ETRUSCHI was widely distributed by the American importers Raymor and Rosenthal Netter, and the artist quickly became well known for his bold and quirky ceramic creations.

The products of GLI ETRUSCHI consisted mainly of small animal and human figurines, both slab-built and wheel-thrown vessels (often altered or combined), and whimsical art objects decorated with implanted metal wires and dripping in acid-colored glazes (often in striking combinations), or muted pastels.  The pieces were rarely signed but were always labeled with a foil sticker that seldom survived. Luckily, the work of Ivo de Santis is usually recognizable by its distinctly original style.

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