Fornaci San Lorenzo

Fornaci San Lorenzo was founded in 1906 at Borgo San Lorenzo, in the Mugello north of Florence, by the cousins Galileo Chini (1873–1956) and Chino Chini (1870–1957) after their departure from L’Arte della Ceramica. Galileo served as artistic director and principal designer; Chino directed the technical production. For their mark they chose the gridiron of Saint Lawrence, the town’s patron. On early wares it accompanies MVGELLO and a design number; later pieces have an encircled device bearing the firm’s name and place of manufacture. These marks help distinguish early designs from examples executed years afterward.

The factory produced luster-glazed majolica, salt-glazed stoneware, architectural tiles and stained glass. Galileo’s drawings provided the basis for vessels whose ornament ranges from Pre-Raphaelite flora to archaizing and nearly geometric patterns, reflecting Japonisme and the Vienna Secession. Peacocks, panthers, falcons and fish appear as stylized forms within the decoration. Under Chino’s technical direction the Fornaci developed the firing and glassmaking capacities needed for architectural commissions, extending ceramic design from individual objects to entire interiors and facades. Glassmaking was especially important to Chino; the workshops also produced wrought iron and furniture, enabling them to furnish complete interiors.

The Chini family’s architectural work remains visible around Borgo San Lorenzo, notably at the Pieve di San Lorenzo and Villa Pecori Giraldi, now home to the Chini Museo. Beyond the Mugello, the Fornaci supplied decoration for the Terme Tamerici at Montecatini and, most famously, the extensive ceramic cladding of the Terme Berzieri at Salsomaggiore, inaugurated in 1923. The latter commission gives the firm a point of comparison with French producers of architectural ceramics, including Alexandre Bigot and Émile Muller. Following the Mugello earthquake of 1919, the factory also supplied stained glass for the restoration of local churches. Its work for villas and civic buildings across Tuscany connected these celebrated spa commissions to a substantial regional practice.

After Galileo relinquished the artistic direction in 1925, Chino’s sons Tito and Augusto carried the manufactory forward. Tito directed its artistic production, while Augusto adapted its output to changing markets and later oversaw the difficult postwar reconstruction. The original works were devastated in the bombing of Borgo San Lorenzo on December 30, 1943. Production resumed after the war; in 1956 the business was reorganized as Franco Pecchioli Ceramiche, with Chini family members continuing in artistic roles. The historical production of the Fornaci is documented in the Chini Museo and the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche at Faenza.

For the Bestiaire, the Fornaci stand beside French family workshops such as those of the Massiers and Renoleau. Their lusters invite comparison with Clément Massier at Golfe-Juan, but the Chini decoration generally favors controlled outline and repeated pattern over iridescence as atmosphere. The Bestiaire’s peacock vase belongs to the firm’s first period, when the living bird could also become a geometric emblem. Its distinctive design and dating evidence are examined in the separate object entry.