Terracotta tones and sun-kissed shores; embark on a journey to mythological realms with Ginori 1735. Created in a renewed collaboration with English artist Luke Edward Hall, the maison’s latest homeware collection comes alive with the elegance of the Mediterranean.
Dubbed Il Viaggio di Nettuno, the offering unfolds as a whimsical tribute to Greco-Roman mythology, from the name – meaning ‘Neptune’s Voyage’ – to the motifs. Across porcelain tableware – plates, bowls, tea and coffee cups – and gift items – tumblers, storage boxes, mugs – hand-drawn looking details dance in the form of trident-bearing mermen, goddesses, sea-horses, fish and octopi. It tells an imaginary tale of the god Neptune as he journeys deep into the abysses of the ocean, and of the extraordinary creatures he encounters along the way.
Hall was drawn to Neptune for the way the god is portrayed in mosaics and frescoes in particular. “The chariot drawn by seahorses, the trident – the image is so powerful! I really enjoy the idea of him travelling on the sea bed with his cohort, encountering the characters we see in the collection, then returning to his palace, which I imagine looking like a sort of glowing grotto,” he says, adding, “Stories of underwater kingdoms and lost cities like Atlantis have enthralled us for centuries, because we want them to have a glimmer of truth about them…”
The colour palette, evolved from the saturated tones of earlier collabs, now includes amalfi lemon, peach, sky blue, terracotta and pine green in an effort to reflect “Mediterranean holidays” and the “atmosphere of summer”. It was an arduous process for Hall, finding the right balance of colours, but one he says he enjoyed all the same. He muses, “I love the palette of our original collection but this time around I wanted to switch from punchy, saturated colours to something earthier.” Referring to the finished product, Hall adds, “The borders and lines are of course based on my hand drawings, so things are a little wonky. Also the backgrounds are based on watercolour paintings, so they’re patchy. [But] I love this, I love imperfections.” This distortion was wholly intentional. “I wanted my drawings to be a little more graphic this time around, more monochromatic, and I wanted to play with the overall colour palette,” he says.
Inspired by the ancient Greek terracottas on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the shapes and decorative schemes of the collection echo classical amphorae and kylixes (types of Ancient Greek pottery), reimagined through Hall’s playful, modern lens. Hall also drew from the artistic spirit of the Bloomsbury Group. “I’ve been a big fan of the ceramic pieces produced by the Bloomsbury Group for a long time, particularly those made by Duncan Grant and Quentin Bell,” he says. “I love the boldness of these pieces, and the wonderful mark making. I wanted to carry into this collection a similar boldness. The world of Bloomsbury is one of my eternal inspirations.”
As for where Hall envisions his work with Ginori 1735 being enjoyed? “I like to imagine my pieces for Ginori being used by people who share my romantic view of the world. People who want to commune with the old gods! Personally, I would like to use the pieces down in Cornwall, a place full of sea-related myths and legends, but I like just as much the thought of my plates popping up on a beach in Sicily, or, of course, Greece!”
To accompany the release, a coastal campaign casts the precious collection in a dreamlike light backdropped by seaside vistas: water, sky, rocks and lush greenery. The set up contrasts the playful designs with pure white linens, geometric lines with organic brushstrokes – a testament to Ginori 1735’s mastery of balancing tradition and modern artistic vision.
Hall first put his head together with Ginori 1735 on a tableware range launched in 2019 that also spotlighted the god Neptune, and again in 2022 for a special collection of fragrant candles and collectables. This third chapter marks a more mature evolution of their creative dialogue. “I very much enjoy working on select collaborations and Ginori is a brilliant example. Ginori is an incredible company with a fascinating heritage, a long history of collaborating with artists and designers, and a remarkable treasure trove of a manifattura at its heart,” he says. “I’ve learnt so much about the production of porcelain, and what a joy for me, to work with an Italian company that means so much to so many people. It’s truly part of the fabric of Italy.”
With Il Viaggio di Nettuno, Ginori 1735 and Luke Edward Hall offer more than tableware; they invite you into a mythic, Mediterranean daydream – imperfect, imaginative and utterly entrancing. Shop the collection here.
Photography courtesy of Ginori 1735.
