Bitossi Rimini blu ceramic figurines were designed by Aldo Londi, and have been in production since 1953. I recently began admiring these, vintage, on ebay. And then, I discovered that you can still get them, new. These Bitossi blue ceramic figurines are absolutely gorgeous…. their primitive sculpted shape is a quintessentially modern look. There is even a Trojan horse (Bitossi = Italian), picking right up on our ongoing discussion about primitive-modern horse motifs. Finally, the glaze: Oh my! That Rimini blu seems to capture and condense the sky… I tend to believe a dash of this color would look fantastic in virtually any interior. According to Unica Home, which sells these sculpted pieces in the U.S. today, Aldo Londi was the longtime art director of Bitossi. Back in the day, I believe the ceramic figurines were marketed by Raymor, which is how I stumbled upon them. There are other vintage colors, for example, the green is also gorgeous and I love their “rainbow” glazes. But Rimini Blu was the signature color, so that appears to be what’s still mostly in production today.
Link: Bitossi Rimini blu figurines from UnicaHome
Bitossi Rimini Blu: 2012 Color of the Year 
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I’m not sure if my horse is Bitossi or a knock-off, but for a $5 find at the flea market, I love it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28718267@N06/3239456768/
sure looks like bitossi to me! great find!
Now I see where Jonathan Adler drew inspiration for his work!
I love that color too. It was very popular in the early 60′s . Another name it was marketed under was Egyptian Blue, maybe due to the popularity of Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra from 1963.
I believe the new pieces of Bitossi have an impressed shield mark. It’s important to distinguish the old from the new, since the new sometimes will cost more than the older collectible pieces.
I found and sold an awesome Bitossi owl, here is my post about it:
http://vintagegoodness.blogspot.com/2010/06/featured-collectible-rosenthal-netter.html
Love the deep blue! Might have to pick one of these up (as I ride horses). I’m already doing the blue touch in my house. Here’s a pic of the blue mirror in my family room. We have a coffee table with a matching blue mirror in there as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flowerquetzel/3838107882/in/set-72157612018559655/