Raymor Rimini?

[SecondhandSophisticate]

I found a beautifully glazed pottery set in a thrift today at 50% off. They are marked "Italy"  I wonder if they are Raymor Rimini? The glaze and coloring are superlative:



Any ideas out there? The piece is in great condition, it's just my lousy phot0-taking that makes it look chipped (it does have a glaze bubble or two) but this piece is not damaged. It has a nice weight to it also. It comes with a companion piece that does have some glaze loss, but for what I paid for the set, it was worth it.

Though I *love* orange, the bright blue/green glazes seem to really capture my eye.  Any ideas out there?

Ciao, Bellas!

[ChrisMiss]

It's pretty, I love the blue green of it.  It will be cool to find out who made it.  I looked up Raymor Rimini and his work is wonderful.  Some of them on ebay were marked with BITOSSI ITALY too.  What a great find and good luck on finding out who made it.

[Scott]

Seso-

It might be by Bitossi, an Italian manufacturer who produced the Rimini Blu line, but I don't think this particular example is part of the line in question. The blue glaze is similar, but the impressed designs are not quite right. Rimini Blu was designed by Aldo Londi, the art director at Bitossi, and beside the tell-tale blue-green faience glaze was embossed with a series of shapes: circles with hatch marks through them, series of parallel lines, etc. I've never seen a marked piece of Rimini Blu without the circle with the # sign embossed in it.

Just to clarify the name of the line, it indeed is Rimini Blu ... not Raymor Rimini. Raymor was a distributer of mid-20th century decorative arts, and had shops in Chicago and New York. They also distributed wares to higher end department stores around the country. Designers from all over the world sold their wares through Raymor, which began as a collaboration between the Richards-Morganthou (where the RAY-MOR name came from) company and famed American industrial designer Russel Wright as a means to distribute his first line of dinnerware: American Modern. That line was such a success Raymor went on to add other designers to their roster: Ben Seibel, Michael Lax, Arthur Umanoff, Richard Galef, Aldo Londi, Marcello Fantoni, and dozens (if not hundreds) of others.

The problem with designating a piece as "Raymor" comes with the many competitors bringing similar wares into the United States. One such company, Rosenthal-Netter, employed some of the same manufacturers as Raymor ... including Bitossi. Many less-than-honest sellers on eBay and elsewhere are trying to capitalize on the cache held by the Raymor name, and thus are marking every unknown piece of MCM Italian art pottery as being "Raymor." This is a completely false practice, and only serves to disinform the casual collector. The only way we can say if an object is truly "Raymor" these days is if the item is marked with the Raymor name in the embossed or printed mark, or if it still retains its original Raymor product sticker. If a sticker remains on the bottom of your jug, it should be stamped with a product code including the three letter indication "BIT" if it indeed originated from the Bitossi factory.

Your jug certainly looks like other pieces Bitossi produced under the art direction of Aldo Londi, and it may or may not from the Rimini Blu line. I'm by no means an expert, though, and this is simply my opinion.

-

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Chrismiss, thanks for your comments. It is gorgeous, isn't it?

Scott, I was hoping you'd weigh in on this, of course!

Thank you for the info. I know my comments betray my lack of knowledge, lol, so I am happy you can help me, set me straight, so to speak!  

I'd be thrilled if it was Bitossi. Unfortunately, there is no sticker on the bottom, just "Italy" on one piece, in that scrawly black print so common on Italian pottery, and "Made in Italy" on the other. It doesn't have to be Raymor Rimini, lol, my assumption just shows how little I know, lol. 

I have a feeling you may be right re Bitossi, from what I have researched.    These pieces just jumped out at me at the thrift because of that incredible glaze and funky design. And the price didn't hurt, either. Believe me, it looks much better in person.   

Is it an older piece, do you think?  Is it still being produced?

SeSo

[Scott]

It is a beautiful glaze treatment! The colors are electric!

If I had to bet, I would say it is from between 1960 and 1975. Bitossi recently offered a handful of "re-issue" pieces embossed in the style of their mid-century wares through Pier One, but from what I've seen they were only available in white and are always marked with an embossed "imported by Pier One" stamp. I'd say you certainly have original mid-century pieces that are no longer in production.

Great find!

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Scott-  You are a gentleman and a scholar ! Thanks again...I am ~thrilled~

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Marvelous shade of blue. Yes, I think that was a 60s color. I've seen pottery lamps of that period glazed in similar shades.

Congrats, SeSo!

[dukek9]

I have nothing to add--except that I am awed by Scott's knowledge and dazzled by your purchase.  It is soooo gorgeous.

Dee