Italian tableware and ceramics company Richard Ginori 1735 is entertaining an offer from Gucci to the tune of €13 million ($17.7 million) to take over the business and save the jobs of Richard Ginori's 230 employees in Sesto Fiorentino, Italy. Both companies' manufacturing operations are based in Tuscany, outside of Florence.

Richard Ginori for Gucci c.1975

Gucci collaborated with Richard Ginori on a ceramic collection in the mid-1970s using the Flora motif by illustrator Vittorio Accornero originally designed for Princess Grace of Monaco. Gucci said in a statement that it plans to launch its own luxury tableware line with Richard Ginori “with the goal to protect and relaunch a historical Florentine brand, synonymous with quality and craftsmanship.”

Pieces designed by (from left to right): Gio Ponti, Giovanni Gariboldi, Franco Albini

Richard Ginori has worked with with some of Italy's most influential designers including Gio Ponti, Giovanni Garibaldi and Franco Albini.

According to the Richard Ginori Museum, Ponti was the artist who transformed the company's production more than any other. As the factory’s art director from 1923 to 1930, he implemented a complete revitalization that included the shapes and decorations of the ceramics as well as the graphic design of the catalogues, posters, commercial photographs and logos of the various different product lines. In 1925 at the Paris International Exposition of Decorative Arts, Ponti’s ceramics received the most prestigious prize, the Grand Prix.

Richard Ginori was declared bankrupt in January and although Gucci's is said to be the only offer, others can potentially be submitted though a public auction until April 22.