Fornasetti Tema E Variazioni No. 154 Round Box

The face of Lina Cavalieri will not be unfamiliar to those partial to one of Fornasetti’s Tema e Variazioni ceramics. The opera singer emerged from the pages of 19th-century magazines and became a source of inspiration to Piero Fornasetti, who imagined her in an endless series of portraits. In the case of Tema e Variazion No. 154, Cavalieri’s face and concealing hands provide the background upon the lid of this trinket dish, while Fornasetti’s clever use of shadow helps to create dimension.