Bas-Relief by Mutina — hand-made at scale, tolerances declared

American projects love authenticity and distrust it in equal measure — too many «hand-crafted» labels on factory goods. Bas-Relief settles the question with a datasheet: production declared artisanal, porcelain clays extruded and cut by hand, tolerance ±2 mm printed in the specs, tonal variation listed as an intrinsic quality — and each piece shipped under a peel-off silicone film to protect the carving through grouting. The craft is not a story; it is documented process.

Patricia Urquiola designed the collection for Mutina in 2010, deepening the relief research she began with Déchirer — «more austere, less romantic», in her words. Four carved textures in three neutral tones (Bianco, Cipria, Nero): Code, a cipher-like repetition; Patchwork, overlapping reliefs that never repeat; Garland, a digitally redrawn floral; Cloud, air bubbles fixed into abstraction. Unglazed — the colour is the clay itself — with the relief cut at different depths so raking light does the decorating.

Specs behind the craft

Walls indoors and out for the 18×54 (7×21 in) textures; Code (26.5×18 cm) is also declared for floors, with DCOF 0.56 against the 0.42 threshold and R11. Absorption 0.07%, stain class 5, frost proof — manufacturer data; HPD and VOC documentation available. Datasheet downloads from this page.