1930s wedding present from Italy? maybe?

Hi!

As the story goes, this was a 1935 wedding present to my grandparents from a friend living in Italy. My grandparents lived in Texas.

I've seen marks with AD, marks with crowns, marks with suns, marks with eyeballs... but nothing that puts all those elements together into one mark that makes sense in my story or otherwise.

I'd like to track down the maker and date range if only to help fill in a story for my mom and the family. Unfortunately, this broke when my mom moved out of her house. I've been asked to have it repaired.


Thanks for looking!

 

It think it's Italian too, tin-glazed earthenware, and probably made about when it was given as a gift. I'm no pottery expert however so I could be all wet. The value isn't relevant in this case. No one could pay you enough to buy it anyway.

 

It probably was new when given as a gift, as @evelyb30 says. I'll just also tag @Walter Del Pellegrino here, although others may come in with knowledge of the mark.

 

Your assumptions are, for the most part, correct. It is Italian. The reason it isn’t marked with the country of origin is because, as you explained, it was purchased in Italy and not meant for commercial export. In the 1920’s Italy did not require the labelling of all its products. I believe the piece was originally undecorated. The clay used was most likely "Terraglia Bianca", often referred to as Queensware in England and the U.S. The use of cut-outs in the bowl (openwork) is known as “Traforato” (pierced) and it is a design element most often found in the ceramics in the region of the Veneto near the capital of Venice. This indicates to me that the piece probably originated in the area of Nove and Bassano del Grappa.
The handpainted design was added some time after the basket was fired. Note the missing portions of color in the center medallion. This could not have happened if the piece had been decorated before being sent to the kiln as it normally would be. The color glazes would have been locked into the clay. Looking back at the center design I immediately recognized the design as Garafano (Carnation). It is based on an Oriental design. It is one of the oldest tableware patterns still in use today. It was created in 1750 by the Ferniani studio of Faenza. Two observations sprung to mind. This design is very crude and unprofessional and an artist from Bassano would never decorate a piece based on a Faentine design. The tiny flowers found throughout are patterned after posies (Mazzetto) but had the artist been in Veneto area he or she would have gravitated toward decorating the bowl with the locally popular "Nove Rose"pattern. Incidentally, the logo is a fake.
I think the bowl itself dates to a period between the 1920 and 1930. Except for sentimental reason I doubt the bowl is worthy of a professional restoration. I have no idea which studio created the bowl. There were some two hundred and fifty ceramists in Bassano alone.

 

Walter.....if you ever give a one or two sentence answer.....I'll fall off my chair !!

Again............well done !!!!

 

Walter, your reply is informative and thorough. There is a lot to learn here!

 

Thanks for all the good info and ideas! There is a lot to know for sure.

As a question, what does

mean? Does it meant that the AD signature is forged or is this in reference to something else?

Thanks again for helping fill in the story!