Life-sized Ceramic Collie · Italy 1960s · 72 cm Sculpture Bassano Tradition

Poised in a classic show-sit, this life-sized ceramic Collie has its head slightly tilted, as if it has just heard a familiar step in the hallway. At 72 cm in height, it reaches the size of a fully grown Rough Collie — a dimension that remains rare in 1960s Italian ceramics, immediately setting the piece apart from the usual tabletop format.

The fur pattern is not painted on but modeled into the still-soft clay. Flowing lines follow the growth direction of the sable fur, extending over the shoulder blades, flanks, and the long tufts of hair behind the ears. Over this lies a lifelike painting in creamy white on the chest, collar, and forelegs, golden-amber on the cheeks and hips, and a dark chocolate tone marking the saddle and ear tips. The hand-painted eyes retain their amber highlight; the black nose sits moist and shiny under the typical narrow Collie stop. A clear overglaze unifies the entire piece, developing a fine crazing in the white chest area, as occurs with six-decade-old high-fired glazes — a subtle hint of lived time, not damage.

On the underside, the hollow body bears an impressed circular mark with a five-pointed star and the inscription "MADE IN ITALY", surrounded by the creamy-beige, unglazed bisque. This mark shape is closely associated with the ceramic tradition of Bassano del Grappa and Nove in Veneto, a region known since the 18th century for lifelike animal and nature motifs, and which supplied several manufactories in the 1960s — including houses like Petucco e Tolio or specialized animal ateliers — with such large-format sculptures. The mark does not allow for a named attribution without an accompanying paper label, but the stylistic canon clearly points to this workshop tradition.

In a bright entryway, next to a mantelpiece, or as a resting guardian between two bookshelves, he seems like a family member just taking a break. Collectors of Italian mid-century ceramic animals will immediately appreciate the size, modeling quality, and unadulterated original patina. The condition is age-appropriate — the described patina and glaze crazing are visible; there are no breaks or repairs.