Postmodern furniture is a parade of quirky styles and colors, unexpected shapes and materials, and innovative construction. Few designers are more quirky, colorful, or creative than Gaetano Pesce.
Like many of the great 20th-century designers, Pesce (1939-2024) trained as an architect and designed lamps, jewelry, other home furnishings, furniture, and buildings. He is known for his clever work with resin and extruded plastic, but his creative output has a softer side, too. His most famous furniture design might be the UP-5 chair, also called “La Mamma” for its curvy, feminine shape, with fabric upholstery over foam and rubber. The soft foam used in the UP chairs allowed them to be compressed flat for easy packaging, shipping, and storage. They sprang back into shape when the package was opened.
The Feltri chair, which Pesce designed in 1987 for Italian company Cassina, is another one of his famous upholstered designs. As its name may suggest, its base is made of felted wool. Its tufted upholstery may give it a slightly more conventional, even old-fashioned, look than Pesce’s usual work, but his playful, experimental approach to form and function is clearly there. The soft, pliable back and sides of the chair can be folded into different configurations. The Feltri chair has been made in many colors. This vibrant purple vintage Feltri chair sold for $3,696 at Wright.
Q: My Hummel ornament with two angels, one playing a stringed instrument, has an unusual mark that I have been unable to identify. It looks like part of the TMK-2 Full Bee, with a bee over the “V” and “(R)” to the lower right. The number “146” and “M.I. Hummel” in script are impressed underneath. I cannot find any reference to the “(R)”. Is it possible to enlighten me as to its meaning?
A: The “(R)” stands for “Registered.” It is unusual, but it does not affect the meaning of the mark or the value of the figure. There are some variations of Hummel marks, especially in the earliest (pre-1970s) marks. According to mihummel.org, the “R” is most often seen in figures dating from 1950 to 1955. TMK-2 Full Bee, the first Hummel mark to feature the bee over a “V,” was used from about 1940 to 1959. Later marks use a stylized bee over the “V” or do not have a “V.” Most Hummel figurines are impressed with “M.I. Hummel,” for designer Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel, and an identification number. Based on the number and your description, yours is the “Angel Duet” baptismal font.
