Desimone fake ?

Hi, I'm new to this site so hello !

I'm looking to this pitcher apparently by Desimone. I have been reading threads on spotting a fake and almost all say that there should be an unglazed area at the bottom.

See pic, this doesn't appear to have an unglazed area. Fake ?

Cheers

George

 

Hello George, welcome to the forum.
Others will be along later to answer your question.

 

Welcome to Antiquers George.

 

@Walter Del Pellegrino Walter is an expert at Italian. I'm sure he can help

 

No idea how prevalent Desimone fakes are. I can tell you that the two pieces of Desi have totally unglazed bases.

This one does look a bit "off" to me in the decoration, but there are a lot of variations, and I could be completely wrong. Hopefully others can give a more definite opinion.

 

Ive got a few pieces,and yours looks right to me,but Im no expert.Couple of quick pics for comparison (sorry about the quality). I dont think this stuff is valuable enought to fake,but who knows?

 

I was given my first piece of DeSimone in the late 60s by my parents and have been picking it up ever since. I agree that your piece is authentic and Walter or someone else should be able to date that Vietri sig.

 

Oops, yours isn’t the Vietri but it’s def. authentic. No question in my mind. There are unglazed edges.

 

You have to remember that these were factory ceramics. Charming but put out in quantity by multiple people so sigs do vary. Here are a few of mine and you can see the sig variances.

Sorry for the sloppy pics and KB glass lol but I wanted to show the OP how much variance there can be in DeSimone.

 

Welcome George from Australia.

 

Thanks for all the info guys ! Much appreciated

 

It will probably be impossible to properly date the piece. The family-owned company remained true to Giovanni DeSimone's vision and form that he created just after the end of World War II.

Unlike many studios that attempted to change direction in order to keep pace with changing times and styles the products of the DeSimone pottery, which looked to the inspiration of Picasso, Matisse, Leger and Klee, never lost the story-telling elements drawn from the folklore and scenes of his beloved Sicily.

Giovanni died in 1991 and two daughters (he had three daughters involved with the company) continued the operation until September of 2008 when the company was forced to close.

I personally believe that the company eventually failed not because of a lack of interest by collectors but rather because of the erroneous ban on DeSimone pottery into the U.S. due to suspected levels of cadmium in the pigments. The company proved over and over again that the ban was (a) undeserved and (b) their products were works of art, not meant for use with food. The ban was never lifted. See below for the U.S. Customs official notices.

"U.S. Import Notice: United States Government Import Alert (number IA5208) presently restricts the import, even in small quantities, of certain ceramic items which contain a high lead content deemed unsafe. We’ve received emails from Americans who purchased such objects only to have these confiscated upon arrival in the United States. The restriction currently applies to glazed ceramic items sold by at least one Sicilian firm, De Simone of Palermo."
"U.S. Food & Drug Administration-

IA #52-08, REVISION - 6/17/03, IMPORT ALERT #52-08, "***DETENTION WITHOUT

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION*** OF CERAMICWARE DUE TO EXCESSIVE LEAD AND/OR CADMIUM",

ATTACHMENT - 12/3/08

NOTE: This revision updates the product codes. Changes are bracketed by

asterisks (***).

TYPE OF ALERT: Detention Without Physical Examination Guidance"


In 1997 one daughter attempted to open her own shop, "Ceramiche Margherita De Simone" and in 2008 Susanna created "Fabbrica della Ceramica.". I think both are no longer in operation, although I may be wrong.

In 2009-2010, the trademark "De Simone Ceramics” was legally purchased, through Margherita De Simone. It was established as a new property that has been re-found with the historic name of the new company "De Simone Ceramics Ltd.” This action ensured that the family name continued to be attached to the artwork even though no family member was involved the authenticity of the artifact. The guarantee of being a DeSimone product was assumed by the continuity of all the production know-how (designers, decorators, etc..). The group of artists who still preserve the heritage of the exclusive school tradition of John De Simone, having trained since young with the teacher, moved to the new company and so the refined and characteristic production of "De Simone Ceramics" with the style of the great master supposedly continued.

The age of a DeSimone piece does not govern its value and it is of no great importance to collectors.

Because of this varied and muddled company history I tend to avoid DeSimone ceramics in my collection.

 

Many thanks Walter for taking the time to post such invaluable info. I’ll continue to pick up pieces from estate sales as I love them and I don’t use them for food but if the pigments do contain metal the fact that “they’re made as art” is kinda bull IMO when so many of the pieces are made exactly like those that should be usable with food and drink. I just enjoy looking at them lined up on my kitchen counters but I don’t use them. I’d also never buy the mugs for that reason as I just can’t see owning unusable mugs lol and I’m more interested in the larger pieces unless they’re covered.

So question for you. Am I correct in assuming that ceramics that are stamped “not for microwave use” contain lead or cadmium and that’s why they heat up to blister worthy temperatures?

 

That is a correct assumption.

 

Once again Walter...you go over & above the call of duty !!!
You're a gem!
I hope one day to find a piece worthy of your time !!!!

 

Any ideas on this one ? It has what looks like a fault with a hole that has been glazzed. Do you think this is worth more due to this ? I'm not trying to make a profit but would like to know

 

IMO no value. A piece I’d leave on a table outside for friends who smoked and wouldn’t care if it got totally trashed by the elements.

That’s literally just my personal opinion. I suppose someone might pay something for it if shipping wasn’t going to make the piece crazy pricey.

Years ago a friend bought a trashed Italian designer purse for a dollar and started it at auction for $.99 I was with her when she bought it and told her not to buy it.
It closed over $300. The listing was very straight and disclosed the horrific condition of a rare and collectible piece. It was listed as a restoration project.
I told her that she was gonna get totally creamed in feedback. She called after receiving the FB saying that the buyer couldn’t wait to start restoring the bag so, bottom line, you never know.