News

Auction 101: Design - Modern Art and Murano Glass - Studio Glass - 14.02.2012

Auction 101A: Design - Modern Art
Auction 101B: Murano Glass - Studio Glass

Viewing:
09/10 Feb. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
11/12 Feb. 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
13 Feb. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

 

Pre-auction report

Three private high-quality collections from Germany, Switzerland and Italy compose most of the offer of around 200 lots of Murano glass.

A German art historian and his wife have been assembling a lovely assortment of Murano glass next to contemporary German and Austrian art. For example, in 1965, the art historian had been able to purchase an extremely rare ‚murrine al serpente’ bowl by Carlo Scarpa at the Venini branch in Rome, an icon of the Italian glass of the 20th century that has been in production up to the present day. Early pieces like this one are hard to come by (€ 16,000-24,000). A Swiss collector, however, concentrated in the 1980s and 1990s on acquiring most beautiful pieces by Napoleone Martinuzzi and Carlo Scarpa from the 1930s and 1940s. The most prominent piece of his collection though, is a very rare ‚zanfirico mosaico’ vase by Paolo Venini that came into existence c1954 (€ 12,000-14,000). A raspberry red ‚inciso’ vase by Carlo Scarpa, taxed at € 8,000-10,000 counts among the highlights of the Italian collection.

Since the renaissance of the Muranese art of glass making in the beginning of the 20th century, the ancient ‚murrine’ technique has been one of the toughest challenges for almost all gaffers of Venice. This is shown by quite a few works like the three ‚occhi’ vases by Tobia Scarpa that feature rectangular murrhines in a chequered pattern in most different colour combinations (€ 3,000-5,000 each). Additionally, in 1959, Tobia Scarpa had designed a very rare ‚a murrine’ bowl that entices through its strong colour contrast between a bright azure blue centre and its grey border (€ 8,000-9,000). In the previous year, Ludovico Diaz de Santillana, husband of Anna Venini, had created a similar bowl, where the central area is composed of bright murrhines of turquoise and white glass (€ 8,000-10,000).

Next to the works of the Venini factory, numerous pieces by the likewise important Barovier & Toso manufacture are on offer. Ercole Barovier had been contributing greatly to the restoration of the Venetian art of glass making since the 1920s. Again, c1960, he supplied designs in’ murrine’ technique that own a distinct and innovative aesthetic and today are coveted collector’s items. Among the first items on offer, one of his very rare ‚egeo’ vase from the year 1960 (€ 12,000-14,000). Of similar rarity is a vase featuring the ‚millefili’ pattern that had been presented four years earlier at the Biennial of Venice. In the year 1968, Ercole Barovier exhibited his ‚cattedrale’ vases, one vase of baluster shape can be bought for € 10,000-12,000.

The offer finds completion through works by Archimede Seguso, Flavio Poli, Cappellin, Zecchin, Fratelli Toso, Gino Cenedese, Vistosi, A.Ve.M and Dino Martens as well as a small collection of Studio glass, among it a sculpture by Czech Tomas Hlavicka (€ 3,000-4,000). For beginners, a number of works under € 500 and 15 reference books can be acquired.