Italian Mugs by Susanna de Simone

This set of four handmade, hand painted earthenware mugs comes from the Italian company La Fabbrica Della Ceramica in Palermo in Sicily. Susanna de Simone, who founded the company, is the daughter of Giovanni de Simone, the renowned ceramic artist who passed away in 1991. Susanna grew up learning from her father and uses the bright red glaze he created, which he shared with Picasso. We've included a photo of Susanna, shown in front of some of her creations.

Each of these mugs has a different hand painted scene: a bright red tulip and leaves; a cubist-style woman with long flowing hair who is holding a similar flower; a cubist-style woman balancing a basket of oranges on her head; and a similar man holding a larger basket with more oranges balanced on his head. The pulled handles each have a painted design and are comfortable to hold.

All the mugs are approximately 4 inches tall; since each is handmade, they vary slightly in height and also in weight, each in the range of 13 to 14 ounces. They hold about 8 ounces of liquid per mug. New hand painted mugs by La Fabbrica della Ceramica are sold on a few websites online, priced at $53.00 to $70.00 EACH plus shipping.

The bottom of the mugs have the "LA FABRICCA DELLA CERAMICA" mark stamped in black, along with various hand painted numbers, letters and the word "ITALY." The dry foot shows the dark red clay used. Every one of the mugs is pristine, with NO post-production damage...No chips, cracks or stains. They appear to be unused. (Due to light reflecting on the glossy top glaze, there are the inevitable white spots.) The colors are cheerful and intense and make coffee or tea time a visual pleasure.

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