La Ciambella Large Porcelain Cigar Ashtray by Jose de Guimaraes

La Ciambella large porcelain cigar ashtray by Jose De Guimaraes for Ritzenhoff.

The "La Ciambella" (means Doughnut in Italian) line of porcelain cigar-sized ashtrays feature graphic arts by emerging artists from all over the world.  They are made of porcelain glazed in white.

Quality porcelain with two flat and wide cigar rests  Covered base protects the ashtray and your furniture 6.5" square and 1.5" tall Weighs 1 lb Packaged in a gift box Jose de Guimaraes is considered one of the main Portuguese artists of Contemporary Art. His main theme is the human body. Read more about the artist in info box below the images.

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José de Guimarães
			Born 1939 in Guimarães. Works as a painter and sculptor in Lisbon.   Jose de Guimarães is one of the very few well-known contemporary Portuguese artists, and his biography embodies the history and traditions of his country as few others do. After studying to become an engineer, Guimarães worked as a geologist and archaeologist and in 1967 took part in the Portuguese campaign in Angola, its last as a colonial power. Only after the 1974 revolution, when the Portuguese finally ousted the last dictator from western Europe, was Guimarães finally able to dedicate himself to art. It can perhaps be said that enthusiasm for technical achievements, a disposition to value foreign discoveries, and art as a critical reappraisal of such experiences are typical of Portuguese identity, and also that Guimarães' art reflects these characteristics. His central theme is an unbiased treatment of modern daily life in all its manifestations, translated into the archaic and lively forms and colors of traditional folk art from Portugal's former colonies, especially from Africa. Guimarães has developed a language of symbols, an alphabet of recurring forms, from which he creates pictorial objects such as African totems. He is interested in art that has been freed from canvas and volume. The task of working with glass might have been created specially for him. The ›woman‹, symbol of fertility, nourishing her children with the gift of milk, and Eros, the ›snake‹, "necessary in order to complete the story." Even on glass, Guimarães speaks in symbols.