Vintage De Simone Pottery Set | Hand Painted Italian Ceramics, Picasso Style Birds

Bold, expressive and unmistakably De Simone, this remarkable Sicilian ceramic set combines Picasso-inspired birds with an unusually earthy and beautifully layered colour palette.

The set consists of a tall pitcher and two matching mugs, each individually handmade and hand-painted. Although clearly conceived as a set, no two pieces are identical. The birds, geometric motifs and expressive linework change from one piece to another, while even the handles have their own individual treatment.

Deep reddish and terracotta tones are layered with chocolate brown, smoky grey and warm off-white, with subtle touches of muted green appearing particularly around the handles. The hand-applied glazes vary beautifully across the surfaces, giving the ceramics a rich, painterly quality.

Dating to the late 1960s to early 1970s, these pieces belong to an earlier period of Giovanni De Simone’s work and show a fascinating contrast to the vibrant, intensely colourful ceramics associated with his later production. Here, his unmistakable artistic language — Picasso-inspired birds, strong graphic outlines and playful geometric forms — is expressed through a rarer, more restrained palette of earthy, nuanced tones.

The survival of the pitcher together with both matching mugs makes this an especially unusual set. Together, the three pieces form a striking sculptural display, while the individual variations in their decoration make each piece interesting in its own right.

Each piece is hand-signed De Simone on the underside.

Measurements
Pitcher:
Height: 20 cm (7.9”)
Diameter: 11 cm (4.3”)

Mugs:
Height: 10 cm (3.9”)
Diameter: 8 cm (3.1”)
Combined weight: 1.40 kg (3.09 lb)

Condition
Good vintage condition with wear consistent with age and use. There is a small area of glaze loss to the upper rim of the pitcher and minor scattered glaze wear. No cracks or repairs. Please refer to the photographs for the detailed condition.