Vintage Italian Travertine Elephant Family Miniatures by Enzo Mari, 1970s, Set of 4

Description

A mid-century miniature sculpture set depicting a family of elephants. This miniature set made in Italy during the 70s combines … more A mid-century miniature sculpture set depicting a family of elephants. This miniature set made in Italy during the 70s combines two Italian peculiarities, the great skills of Italian craftsmen in the processing of marble, in this case travertine, and Design. In the case of this sculptural set depicting elephants in scale, the ability to stylize and with a few lines create an animal silhouette recognizable to all. During the mid-20th century these objects were very popular in Italy, the most famous are those designed by Enzo Mari and produced by the Fratelli Mannelli factory, a historic brand for the production of travertine furniture. A project perhaps born following the design of a splendid educational game created for "Danese", a modular puzzle, a multiple interlocking structure, skillfully created to obtain from a single rectangular wooden board and with a single continuous cut, 16 animal silhouettes all different from each other. The 4 elephants that make up this set are represented with a stylised shape and have decreasing dimensions. The dimensions range from the largest of 9 cm in height to the smallest of 3 cm in height less