Ettore Sottsass Basilico Signed Lacquer Bowl, Marutomi Japan, 1997

Memphis Postmodern Design Object, Ettore Sottsass Basilico Bowl, Red Lacquer, Marutomi Japan, Signed, 1997

Highlights:
Designer: Ettore Sottsass
Manufacturer: Marutomi, Japan
Model: Basilico
Year: 1997
Origin: Japan
Style: Memphis, Postmodern
Particulars: Deep lacquer red bowl on pedestal base; embossed Marutomi signature on underside; one minor lacquer chip on upper rim — fully documented in photographs; a significant Sottsass design object from his Japan collaboration period
Ideal for: Collectors of Memphis design, Sottsass admirers, postmodern design collections, serious investors in late 20th century Italian design

Description:
The Basilico bowl belongs to Ettore Sottsass's collaboration with the Japanese manufacturer Marutomi — a partnership that produced a series of lacquer objects that sit at an intriguing intersection between Sottsass's Italian postmodern vocabulary and the Japanese tradition of lacquerwork as a carrier of both function and cultural meaning.

The form is characteristically Sottsass: a deep bowl on a raised pedestal base, the whole finished in a deep, saturated lacquer red that reads simultaneously as maximalist and austere. The red is not decorative in the conventional sense — it is a formal statement, a colour chosen for its weight and presence rather than its prettiness. The sculptural profile — wider at the rim, narrowing to the pedestal — gives the piece a stability and authority that belies its modest scale.

Sottsass (1917–2007) founded the Memphis Group in Milan in 1981, changing the direction of international design with a movement that rejected modernist functionalism in favour of colour, pattern, cultural reference and emotional engagement. The Marutomi collaboration belongs to his later period — work produced after Memphis had run its course but that continues to explore the same fundamental questions about the relationship between objects, materials and cultural identity.

The Marutomi signature is embossed on the underside. There is one minor lacquer chip on the upper rim, clearly documented in the photographs. This is the only condition note.

Condition:
Very good condition. The lacquer surface is intact and vivid across the body. One minor lacquer chip on the upper rim — fully documented in images 2 and 7. Embossed Marutomi signature on underside present and legible.

Details:
Designer: Ettore Sottsass
Manufacturer: Marutomi, Japan
Model: Basilico
Year: 1997
Style: Memphis, Postmodern
Material: Lacquered wood (deep red)
Marking: Embossed Marutomi signature on underside
Condition: Very good — one minor lacquer chip on upper rim (see photos)