Works by such well-known postwar Italian artists as Burri and Manzoni are commanding successively higher prices in the Christie’s and Sotheby’s Italian auctions — and Fontanas have been appearing in the big contemporary evening events, too. But if the masters prove out of reach, comparable works by other artists have their own appeal.

"Secondi Piatti" originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction''s February 2009 Table of Contents.