Ettore Sottsass

Austrian-born Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) worked for decades as a consultant to Olivetti, where he created the Valentine typewriter (1969). His ceramics, furniture and glass pieces explored colour, ritual and symbolism, and in 1981 he founded the Memphis group in Milan. Collectors seek his early ceramics, his Ultrafragola mirror for Poltronova, and original Memphis pieces such as the Carlton bookcase, preferably from first production.