First post, any help on this vase would be appreciated...

Hello all, if someone can shed some light on this funny old vase I would appreciate the help. Thinking either Mexican or Italian?? No idea of date.

 

Very colorful and ornate. I like it, also great photos! I think it might say "Italy" on the base. If you flip the photo of the signature upside-down... see what you think.

 

The decor technique is called sgraffito, which is Italian for "to scratch"

 

Absolutely Italian.

 

It always helps getting the right eyeballs to look if you mention the material in the caption. Pottery or glass is enough.

 

The form of decoration is called Sgraffito. This technique of decorating pottery dates back as far as the 11th century but its popularity had faded away by about the 18th century. It took the efforts of a single ceramist in the early 20th century to revive the art form and revitalize an industry. Zulimo Aretini descended from an ancient family of potters working in the Umbrian town of Perugia, near Deruta. Aretini, born in Monte San Savino in Arezzo in 1884, completed his apprenticeship in the family's pottery. Here he learned the secrets of traditional sgraffito practiced by his family since the sixteenth century. After being employed by such famous studios as Colonnata and SACA in Florence he decided, in 1929, to return home and open his own studio in Perugia. There he begins to reinterpret ancient sgraffito forms in an absolutely modern and original manner. His studio won almost immediate recognition and success. His workshop joined with a consortium of other potters in Deruta and Perugia and established international contacts for the export of their wares. It was Zulimo's international success that spurred the interest of the sgraffito wares of Montelupo and Montopoli.
I believe that your example was produced in Perugia during the mid 1930's. The figure of the bird is one of the telltale signs of regional influences. It is not a particularly fine example of the art but it is a tic above that which is on the market today

 

Your first post, and you got an answer from the top expert on Italian pottery!

 

Walter, you are the BEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you maryisigal and Taupou. Its quite an honor to be elevated from an expert to the "Top Expert". Unfortunately, I do not deserve either titles. I am simply, like yourselves, a collector. I still, after more than 40 years of collecting, make mistakes when identifying the works of various artist and I still find myself occasionally stumped by some marks. For example, the other day I was asked to confirm a large charger as being from the Cantagalli studio. After declaring, at some length, that it was a fake and claiming it didn't even look like the work of an Italian 19th century artist I discovered on a photo of the backside of the tondo what looked like an impressed seal. When I magnified the image I saw the unexpected. After a long-winded explanation of why the piece was not a 19th century Cantagalli I had to contact the plate's owner and redact everything. Her piece was clearly marked by the "impressed" seal of the Cantagalli family and to my knowledge the seal was never forged. So much for my expertise! In any case Thanks for the compliment and your faith in my opinion

 

Oh , that's OK Walter......we'll cut you some slack.....1% of the time......as for the other 99%......you do seem to be bang on !!!

 

Walter Thanks for all the unselfish help you have giving me with Italian Pieces.
You are truly the greatest expert that I know in Italian Pottery and European Pottery

 

Thank you. All of you make me feel useful and its a wonderful feeling

 

Thank you to everyone for your help and input and especially to Walter for your interest and opinion. You certainly are well thought of as a source of knowledge. It is nice to know about this old vase, we have had it forever.