Perforated disc "L'amore degli angeli"

Perforated disc on a square base featuring the decoration “L’amore degli angeli” [inv. 3097]. Richard-Ginori manufactory, Gio Ponti Art Collection. Hand-painted porcelain. Designed in 1929. The object, finished in gold engraved with a pointed agate tool, bears a decoration showing angelic figures on one side and geometric motifs on the other. It is usually identified as a tabletop paperweight, though alternative hypotheses about its function have been proposed (it could, for example, be a watch holder). While the reference to non-Western art and cultures is not explicit in this case, as noted by Oliva Rucellai, it is very likely that the perforated disc form itself derives from Oriental sources (Chinese Bi disc).