16 Pesci Puzzle, 1974

16 Pesci by Enzo Mari for Danese.

Enzo Mari is one of the most prolific Italian designers of the 20th century, known for his experimental approach to design. 16 Pesci is an iconic modernist wooden puzzle designed to produce 16 different fish shapes, with just one continuous cut, from a single piece of wood.

Pesci is a variant on Mari’s 16 Animali, first produced for Danese Milano in 1956. The Ani,ali puzzle marked the start of a long collaboration between Enzo Mari and Danese Milano. The modular puzzle became one of the best-known examples of educational design.

In 2003, Danese reissued a limited run of 200 puzzles each year. Each puzzle comes with an official authentication and quality control number and date of production.