Enzo Mari - Danese Milano - Casse-tête - ''16 Pesci'' - Limited Edition - Bois de chêne massif

Note: This object will be send last week of September (week 40).

This ''16 Pesci'' puzzle was designed by Enzo Mari in 1974 for Danese Milano and can be considered as one of the most famous examples of design applied to the field of didactic objects. This puzzle is a limited edition out of a batch of 200 worldwide.

‘’16 Pesci’’ was designed originally as a children’s game. During the research for designing the puzzle Mari got inspired by a Scandinavian toy he had found consisting of a wooden box made up of individual pieces, vaguely resembling animals. He felt that the game was boring because the shapes were too similar and so set about designing his own version with a greater variety of more realistic forms.

After more than thirty sketches and three prototypes, the design was finalized. The animals would all slot together and be made out of a single sheet of wood, cut in one continuous line and then hand finished. The toy would be a puzzle as well as providing sixteen individual characters to play with, each of a sufficient depth to make them both robust and stackable.

Starting during the 70s, a limited number of puzzles were produced each year but although the game was well received, the manufacturing process was complex, time-consuming and expensive; using highly-skilled craft techniques was proving neither productive nor competitive. Mari was committed to the idea of mass production but, at the same time, was determined not to compromise the beauty and efficiency of his original design. Because of this, this puzzle is original, hand made and completely made of oak wood.

This ''16 Pesci'' puzzle is in perfect condition and was not used before. Completely original with packaging.

About the designer:
Enzo Mari (1932 - 2020) was an Italian modernist artist and furniture designer who is known to have influenced many generations of industrial designers. One of the most famous Italian designers ever lived. He started his activity with studies on visual perception and then focused his attention on games for children, graphics, design and architecture. He was awarded the Compasso d'Oro in 1967, 1979, 1987 and in 2001 for his table Tavolo legato. In 2001 he published the book Progetto e passione (Project and passion) which analyses the design on a wider cultural horizon. Mari is the author of over 1500 objects, made for major Italian companies. Among these, there are Zanotta, Driade, Alessi, Danese, Artemide, Olivetti, Ideal Standard, Flou, Estel, Lema and Robots. Enzo Mari died on 19 October 2020, at the age of 88, and became, together with his wife, a victim of the corona pandemic.