‘The Red Hand’ is one of the most iconic objects in the Schläppi Archives. Designed in 1968 by Italian artist Lorenzo Piemonti, the original ‘Giant Hand’ was part of the ‘Loisir 2000’ Collection and stood at an impressive 4.7 metres tall. When Bonaveri built its new factory in 2006, it brought the ‘Giant Hand’ from the archives and placed it in the factory gardens to welcome guests. The hand was painted in ‘Bonaveri Red’, a historic colour developed from the crest of Ferrara, the hometown of the Bonaveri Family. From that moment on, it became known as ‘The Red Hand’. This object is now the icon of Bonaveri Décor.
During a project with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which involved the work of Constantin Brâncuși, ‘The Sleeping Muse’ became the inspiration for this object. During our research, we discovered that the original sculpture, created in 1910, was carved from white marble, and Baroness Renée-Irana Frachon was the original muse. ‘The Baroness’ was conceived from one of the project’s unseen clay prototypes. In homage to Brâncuși, we produced this object in Portoro Marble with an inserted polished bronze abstract face.
Also available in Rosso Levanto Marble with a polished chrome insert.
Born in 1935, Italian artist Lorenzo Piemonti spent a decade of his career in Switzerland, from 1965 to 1975, as a sculptor for Schläppi, creating mannequins and surrealist objects. The sculpture ‘Protection’, of a clay ‘Loisir’ mannequin hand during its moulding process, was discovered in an archival book of Piemonti’s work. We adored the image so much that we have carefully recreated it in honour of the incredible work Piemonti created for Schläppi.
The sculpting atelier creates miniature figurines or ‘maquettes’ to understand the pose, anatomy and proportions of the body before a mannequin is sculpted. They can often be found huddled together on shelves and tables, waiting to be shown to the client. We named this piece ‘The Wait’ as its pose and unfinished quality seems fitting to the process.
In 1953, Romano Bonaveri founded the Bonaveri company based on his remarkable sculpting skills. Combining business and creativity, he began achieving tremendous success sculpting mannequins. In his honour, Italian artist Adelfo Galli sculpted this bust of Romano, which is infused with creativity and a pop of neon colour.
The ‘Schläppi M’ series was launched at Düsseldorf’s Euroshop Exhibition in 1984. With its sleek lines and simple facial abstractions, the collection exudes charm and character. The original archive figure has been 3D-scanned, miniaturised and separated into two parts. The figure is then machine-engineered in solid ash; our skilled artisans then complete the fine detailing in the woodwork atelier, finishing the figure with a flame process that burns the exterior while leaving the interior intact.
The iconic ‘Schläppi Loisir’ mannequin, designed by Lorenzo Piemonti in 1967, is one of his most legendary and enigmatic creations. The ‘Loisir’ mannequin featured extreme, dramatic poses and a mysterious, magnetic elegance unlike anything seen before. Piemonti originally designed ‘Loisir’ as a literal giant; in contrast, we decided to miniaturise her. Skilled artisans robotically cut the marble sculpture and hand-finished her in the atelier. We selected Red Verona marble as it’s the local stone of Ferrara, the hometown of the Bonaveri family.
Located at the entrance to Adele and Romano Bonaveri’s family home, the space hosts a beautiful exhibition of Romano’s personal sculptures and artwork from his lifetime. A sculpture of a young Adele, positioned on a shelf, always caught our attention. The original sculpture has been 3D scanned and machine-engineered in solid oak; our skilled artisans then completed the fine detail work in the woodwork atelier, applying a polished beeswax finish to complete the sculpture.
The ‘Schläppi 2500’ mannequins have a unique design and surrealist paddle hands. The hands are fascinating objects. We pulled many styles from the archives, and one caught our attention. Found upside down with the palm facing up, it reminded us of a bowl, which is how the object was developed. Sculpted in the Bonaveri atelier, we supersized the original hand in clay and then produced the final object in the iconic Schläppi aluminium.
We pay homage to British artist Dame Barbara Hepworth. Inspired by ‘The Cosdon Head’ sculpted in 1949 from blue marble, we immediately pulled the original ‘Schläppi 2500’ heads from the archives. The similarities were striking; it felt as though Hepworth’s work had inspired the Schläppi sculptor during that period of design. We recreated the archive Schläppi head in our sculpting atelier, added the signature Hepworth hollowed eye, and followed the shape and scale of Hepworth’s original sculpture.
This object is also available in a smaller size: 25 x 19 x 26cm
During a project with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which involved the work of Constantin Brâncuși, ‘The Sleeping Muse’ became the inspiration for this object. During our research, we discovered that the original sculpture, created in 1910, was carved from white marble, and Baroness Renée-Irana Frachon was the original muse. ‘The Baroness’ was conceived from one of the project’s unseen clay prototypes. In homage to Brâncuși, we produced this object in Rosso Levanto Marble with a polished chrome abstract face.
Also available in Portoro Marble with a polished bronze insert.