Description
Sorry SOLD in the first 10 minutes it was listed! Follow us on Instagram- instagram.com/invisedge .
All iNVISeDGE prices are in AUSTRALIAN dollars (AUD $350) is significantly less in American dollars. 2021- AU$350 is worth about $255 Australian.
Background Info and Provenance
A VINTAGE Bitossi penguin money-box made in Italy in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. He measures 22cm in height and is marked to the base with Italy and the design number. In my opinion this piece is bigger than the photos make him look- it’s one of the largest Bitossi pieces I’ve had. This is a VINTAGE Bitossi piece, MADE BY HAND (by artists in Italy) in the 1950’s/60’s. There have been re-issues of Bitossi pieces but they are nothing like the vintage originals. The new ones are essentially plaster poured into a mould (a machine could do it and does). They don’t have the hand-made quality of the vintage pieces. The new ones look mass-produced. The re-issues have found their way into Australia and there are ebay/Marketplace sellers labelling them as “authentic” and “retro”- they are copies of the original vintage pieces. I’ve seen a new dachshund recently bid up to $300 Australian on ebay. The vintage ones are worth AUD $300 because they have been made by hand. The newer ones have a current retail value of about $160 because they were/are mass-produced by machines. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL VINTAGE BITOSSI PIECE- IT’S 100% GUARANTEED VINTAGE. This shape has not been re-issued- there are NO new ones around in the penguin money-box design.
VINTAGE Bitossi pieces were all done by hand- the incisions on the outside, the paint decoration and the moulding were done by the hands of an artist making every Bitossi piece individualistic (and full of heart and soul). Designed by Aldo Londi and created by the world-famous Italian firm Bitossi, these animals captured the attention of the world and cemented Bitossi’s already world-wide reputation. To my knowledge, Bitossi pieces were never retailed in Australia back in the 1960’s- they’re incredibly rare here and much-loved by Australian collectors. Bitossi animals in Australia are about 30 times rarer than America.
This piece is marked- this helps guarantee its vintage. ALL the new ones have an impression on the underside (in the mould). Many of the vintage Bitossi animals were NOT marked. It is hard to find one with the vintage marking underneath. Bitossi bulls are currently fetching $1000+ in vintage design shops in Australia- my last bull sold immediately through the iNVISeDGE website for $770. The penguin is RARE- rarer than nearly every animal- it’s the first penguin money-box I’ve seen.
The real beauty of owning vintage Bitossi is knowing it won’t be in vogue for a season or even a couple of years before ending up as landfill. The hand-made quality of these pieces draws people in- the heart and soul that comes through will continue to speak to people regardless time period, age and background. This piece has survived 50 years and is more popular than ever. There are very few better ways to invest in your home and our environment.
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This penguin money-box is in excellent condition considering his age and travels. There are NO structural cracks, NO repairs, NO chips or damage at all. He’s in excellent condition with light signs of age and use to be expected of any vintage pottery piece but nothing that is noticeable. He’s HAND-MADE so there may be minor imperfections as part of the creation process but nothing that is noticed or warrants a specific mention. The piece has light crazing. He has a height of about 22cm and measures about 15.5cm across. (Depth=15cm). Read my 930+ feedback comments (ALL for vintage furniture/decorative art SALES- 100 or so are from repeat customers). This is your guarantee that I strive to describe all my items as accurately as I can and I will not stock items unless they are in excellent condition.
PICK-UP . . . from 30 or 40 minutes North of BRISBANE city is accepted but postage is preferred as my home is hard to find. Because of this I will nominate a friend or family member for you to collect the item from if you need collection. Pick-up in person must be worked out prior to purchase- thank you. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ POSTAGE is offered internationally. All our Decorative Arts pieces are delivered through AUSTRALIA POST. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ POSTAGE ESTIMATES. . . . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To BRISBANE- most of our pieces cost $15 - $18 to send. . . To SYDNEY or MELBOURNE- Small Vase- around $20 - $23, Medium Vase- around $20 - $25, Large Vase- around $24 - $30. Let us know if you need an EXACT COST for postage prior to purchase. The above postage estimates include $2.95 for a signature on delivery. . . INSURANCE against being lost or broken in transit up to the value of $200 is included in the estimates above. If your vase is cheaper or more expensive than $200 this will effect your postage fee slightly. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A BOXING FEE of $3.00 is included in the fee above to cover the cost of searching for and storing used packing materials. With the millions of cardboard boxes that end up as landfill every year we don’t believe in supporting the manufacture of boxes for post. Instead of buying new boxes and packing materials and passing this cost onto our customers we spend considerable time sourcing used boxes and then fashioning boxes to fit each item. We do the same for bubble-wrap and foam pieces. This requires a large investment of time, energy, ingenuity, organization and storage space- it is much easier and cheaper to buy new packing materials but I can’t justify taking the easy way out when so much packing material ends up polluting our earth. Our $3.00 charge does little to pay for the time (and storage) needed do this and to pack your item (there is also the time needed to get your package to the post office). This is something we’re happy to do for our customers and the environment. We appreciate your support in this area.
We accept DIRECT BANK DEPOSIT. We send photographic ID of the iNVISeDGE store owner (Michael Grealy) to all customers at the point of sale, along with media articles about iNVISeDGE with photos of Michael Grealy in them (most of these articles are about 10 years old). Your payment will be paid into an Australian ANZ bank account under the name Michael Grealy (or iNVISeDGE). Please read our ebay feedback spanning more than 15 years for irrefutable proof of our online trading history and reputation. Ebay feedback can ONLY be left by LEGITIMATE PAYING customers! Additionally please be aware that in Australia ALL consumers are protected BY LAW if the goods or services they buy are not as described. (But this should be of no concern- in our first 15 years of trading we have over 1150 positive ebay feedback comments and ZERO negative feedback comments.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On occasions a DIRECT BANK DEPOSIT can be made at the time of collection. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On occasions CASH payment when you collect your item may also be available. Confirm prior to purchase if you need this. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Other payment methods are available but problematic and may incur additional fees. Tell us prior to purchase if you are unable to feel 100% confident with our trading history and payment methods so we can negotiate something else with you.
Click on "About iNVISeDGE" at the top of this page to find out more about iNVISeDGE.
