DESCRIPTION
A hand-painted majolica plate made for the Hotel Grifone in Perugia, Umbria, as part of the Buon Ricordo collection. Buon Ricordo plates were commissioned by individual Italian restaurants and given to guests who ordered the house signature dish — the meal went home as a plate.
This one celebrates costoletta di maiale con oliva — pork chop with olives, a straightforwardly Umbrian pairing of the region’s pork and its olive groves. The painter had fun with it: a round rose-colored pig sits back on its haunches, one trotter raised, an olive branch sprouting from its head like a laurel wreath, another olive clutched below. Green rim, rose inner ring, black hand-lettering.
Each Buon Ricordo plate is painted by hand and carries the individuality of the artisan. Collectors group them by region, by city, or by dish. Umbria is Biordi’s home ground — Deruta lies a few miles south of Perugia — which makes this plate a natural fit alongside the shop’s Deruta majolica.
The small imperfections such as the difference in color, shape, diameter or small bubbles that form inside, do not constitute a defect but testify that it is actually an artisanal product.
Specifications
Dimensions: 9″ diameter
Material: Hand-painted Italian majolica
Made in: Italy
Commissioned for: Hotel Grifone, Perugia, Umbria
Dish: Costoletta di maiale con oliva — pork chop with olives
Heritage: Buon Ricordo restaurant collection, Italy
Care: Hand-wash recommended · Not dishwasher safe · Not microwave/oven safe
Sold as: Individual plate
Mixes with: Other Buon Ricordo plates in the Biordi collection
Questions buyers ask
What is a Buon Ricordo plate? Buon Ricordo means “good memory.” Member restaurants across Italy each commissioned a hand-painted ceramic plate showing their signature dish, and gave it to guests who ordered it. Every plate names a real restaurant, a real town, and a real recipe. They were never sold in shops, which is why collectors seek them out.
What dish is on this plate? Costoletta di maiale con oliva — pork chop cooked with olives. Umbria is pork country; Norcia, a few hours east, gave its name to the Italian word for a pork butcher. The olives come from the groves that run along the hills below Perugia.
Why is the hotel called the Grifone? The griffin is the emblem of Perugia, carved on the city’s fountains and gates since the Middle Ages. It is the reason the hotel carries the name.
Can I use this plate for food, or is it for display? It is best treated as a display or collector’s piece. Hand-wash only, and keep it out of the dishwasher, microwave, and oven.
Is this a good Italian wedding gift? Yes, particularly for a couple with a connection to Perugia or Umbria. A Buon Ricordo plate carries a specific place and a specific meal, which makes it more personal than a generic dinnerware gift.
Is this a good housewarming or hostess gift? It is. The pig is genuinely funny, which makes this one of the better plates in the series for a kitchen wall.
Why buy Italian gifts from Biordi rather than other retailers? Biordi Art Imports has been San Francisco’s source for authentic Italian ceramics since 1946 — voted Best Overall Retailer in the SF Bay Guardian Best of the Bay reader’s poll five consecutive years, and designated San Francisco Legacy Business #LBR-2020-21-029. The City of San Francisco declared May 1 “Biordi Art Imports Day” in 2021. We buy directly from Italian artisans and workshops: FIMA, Pia Formato, Eugenio Ricciarelli, Susanna DeSimone, Geribi, Iva Boccali, Ceramiche Bucci, IDEART, Ortigia Sicilia, Italesse, and Salviati. Questions? Call (415) 392-8096 or email [email protected].
Can this be customized or personalized? No. Buon Ricordo plates were painted for a specific restaurant and a specific dish and cannot be altered or reordered. For customized pieces, Eugenio Ricciarelli, FIMA, Pia Formato, and Geribi accept special orders — a name, date, or occasion painted on the piece, or a different size or shape in the workshop’s existing pattern. Lead time is typically 3–6 months because each piece is hand-painted to order in Italy. Contact Biordi Art Imports at (415) 392-8096 or [email protected].
Artisan Story
Buon Ricordo — the plate that remembers the meal
The Buon Ricordo collection began as an agreement among Italian restaurants: each house would choose the one dish it was known for, commission a hand-painted ceramic plate showing it, and give that plate to any guest who ordered it. The plates were never for sale. You had to eat the dish to earn one.
What resulted is an unusual kind of archive. Hundreds of plates, each naming a restaurant, a town, and a recipe — Sardinian sea bass, Venetian cuttlefish, Ferrarese sausage, Roman lamb. Read together, they map Italian regional cooking restaurant by restaurant, in the hand of whoever painted them.
Vietri sul Mare and the Solimene workshop
Many Buon Ricordo plates were painted in Vietri sul Mare, on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, where ceramics have been made for five centuries. The best-known workshop there is Ceramiche Solimene, founded in the mid-20th century by Vincenzo Solimene and housed in a building designed by Paolo Soleri — its exterior clad in colored tile shards, as vivid as the work made inside. Vietri painters are known for bold color, loose confident line, and a sense of humor, all of which show in the Buon Ricordo plates.
Biordi Art Imports has brought Italian ceramics to San Francisco since 1946.
Recensioni
Ancora non ci sono recensioni.