IVO DE SANTIS OWL FIGURINE FOR GLI ETRUSCHI (ITALY)

A 1960s-era handmade pottery owl, partially glazed in glossy bright green, with a matt wash of brown on the front and bulging orange eyes, created by Ivo de Santis for the GLI ETRUSCHI pottery workshop in Florence, Italy. This piece is in exceptional condition and is one of the rare few that is actually marked on the bottom with 'GLI ETRUSCHI ITALY.' IVO DE SANTIS opened his pottery studio in Florence, Italy, in the early 1950s and named it GLI ETRUSCHI (the Etruscans). While there is practically no biographical or historical information to be found on de Santis or his workshop, it is clear that virtually all of the company's exclusively hand-built products were exported to the United States. It is rare to find anything in Italy produced at GLI ETRUSCHI. The work of Ivo de Santis became very popular in the USA, however. In the 1960s and 70s, GLI ETRUSCHI was widely distributed by the American importers Raymor and Rosenthal Netter, and the artist quickly became well known for his bold a