Rare Matteo Thun Postmodern Memphis Group porcelain set, part of the Fantasia Mocca Collection (1985)

From time to time we stumble upon some great pieces like this Arzberg post-modern white porcelain set designed by Matteo Thun, part of the Fantasia Mocca Collection. Produced in 1985 during the heights of Memphis Group, this set goes beyond its functionality per se and it is certainly a statement of an age that shaped world design.

Now, there’s of course so much to talk about both Memphis Group and Matteo Thun, so we’ll start with the basics.

At the beginning of the 1980s, Ettore Sottsass founded the Memphis Group, alongside Matteo Thun, Alessando Mendini and international architect Frank Gehry. Also known as Memphis Milano, the Group  was active from 1980 to 1987 and designed post-modern furniture, lighting, fabrics, carpets, ceramics, glass and metal objects.

As a matter of fact, their designs were so good that many frankly said that there’s had not been nothing quite disruptive in the design world as the Memphis collective since Walter Gropius opened the doors of the Bauhaus over a half-century earlier - and we quite agree!

Back in 1981, when the first Memphis exhibition was organised near age Duomo in Milan in a kitchen showroom, at least 2,000 people came to see the furniture collection designed by Sottsass and his young collaborators, including Michele De Lucchi, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Aldo Cibic, George Sowden and Matteo Thun. 

People loved and hated at the same time what Memphis brought about, as it shocked with the colour palette of choice: a brash blend of combinations of sweet-toothed nursery colours, a blend of retro clashing colours, neons and flat colours, mixed with repetitive geometric patterns (small shapes like triangles, squiggles, and circles) and of course black and white stripes, tattooed onto pretty much every available surface.

It was fair to say that depending on the cultural disposition and the age of the observer, it seemed either mildly threatening or wildly liberating.

And just like that, Memphis was everywhere, from the fast-fashion shops in Australia and Germany to Karl Lagerfeld’s new home in Monte Carlo, which he filled with pieces from that first collection. Then, Memphis’ work has served as the inspiration for fashion collections by designers such as Dior, Missoni or Anthony Vaccarello’s Memphis-inspired collection for Saint Laurent.

The designer of this porcelain set, Matteo Thun, apart from being one of the co-founders of the Memphis group, he has designed products for Bvlgari (watches), Campari (glasses), Illy (espresso cups), Artemide (lamps), Swatch (watches) and Tiffany, just to name a few. For his notable work as an architect, Matteo designed for Hugo Boss (headquarters in Switzerland), Porsche, JW Marriott Venice, Radisson Frankfurt, Mövenpick, Hilton,  and also worked on the new look for the façade of the Palazzo del Cinema during 61st, 62nd and 63rd editions of the Venice Film Festival. He was inducted into the Interior Hall of Fame in New York in December 2004 and is a member of RIBA, the Royal Association of British Architects and in 2001, he was named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his work in design and art.

The Matteo Thun set, besides being a truly rare find, would also be a great investment for the future, the sort of thing that you grand-grand-children would remember you by. So, whether you are a design and architecture enthusiast or you simply love to have unique pieces in your day-to-day rituals, the set is just the right thing to bring home.

Product specifications

Country of manufacture — West Germany

Condition —Excellent — This vintage/antique piece is in near original condition.

Restoration and Damage Details — None

Material — Porcelain

Size — teapot H 15 cm x 13 cm ⌀; cups H 7 cm x 5.2 cm ⌀;  saucer 15 cm ⌀; sugar bowl H 10 cm x 8 cm ⌀;