Feature Article
Venini "Pezzato" vase #4319, Arlecchino color - click for larger view
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When collecting Mid-Century accessories, nothing beats the color, shape, or
emotion captured in post war Italian glass. The island of Murano, where the best
Italian glass is manufactured, was closed down during the second world war.
After the war ended, a sea of change took place. The pent up creativity of the
glass designers combined with the rejection of the past caused a new dawning
of glass as art. The exhibition "Italy at Work" brought the look and style
of the new Italian designers to art museums when it toured the United
States.
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The use of modern materials in the States (bent plywood, canvas strapping,
extruded metal, etc.) caused a wave of design consciousness that few
European designers were able to meld into. The Italians, along with the
Scandinavians, were successful in becoming part of the Modern Design movement, and
established a design stronghold that persists to today.
VENINI
The most important company in the glass collector's world is Venini. It was
started by a lawyer from Milan, Paolo Venini (1895-1959) in 1925 after a
partnership with Cappellin from 1921 to 1925 failed. He understood the
importance of design to make his products desirable as a quality decorative
item, not a tourist trinket. Before WW2, he hired Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978),
who after the war pursued his chosen occupation of architecture and became
the "Frank Lloyd Wright" of Italy. Scarpa's designs show architectural
beauty in their use of shape, curves, and proportion rather than decoration
or attachments.
FULVIO BIANCONI
After the war (1948) Venini hired a young illustrator as Scarpa's successor.
His name was Fulvio Bianconi (1915-1996). He was a student of the Istituto
d'Arte and the Accademia di Belle Art in Venice. During the 1930's he was
employed by numerous publishing houses as a graphic artist and caricaturist.
His sense of humor and admiration of the female form can be seen in his work
on paper and in glass.
The most popular of Bianconi's designs are the Fazzoleti or handkerchief
vase. It looks like a wet napkin made of glass draped upside down and frozen
in place. Thousands of these were made in dozens of sizes, patterns and
color combinations for the tourist trade. This vast production keeps the
price reasonable as the supply is plentiful.
PATCHWORK VASES
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This vase is a different story. It is beautiful, rare, and
part of a highly collectable series. It is called a "Pezzato," which means
patchwork. This is model #4319. It was first shown in a series of five
Pezzati at the Milan Trienale in 1951. The famous designer Gio Ponti was a
great promoter of Venini and wrote in his magazine Domus "The collectors
should throw themselves on these, leaving behind the figurines and glass
flowers that Venini must make in order to sustain his furnace...."
The color of this vase is called
Arlecchino, named after the character from
the Commedia Dell'Arte (for you drama students). You will note the
occasional white or opaque green and red patches. A similar color
combination called Parigi (Paris) of red, green, blue and clear is highly
desirable to collectors for its deep beauty and intensity. When combined
with an under layer of white, the Arlechino is created. A pair of these
vases is pictured on the cover of Franco Deboni's classic tome "Venini
Glass" ISBN 88-422-0613-X, a must for any serious enthusiast.
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Venini "Pezzato" vase #4319, Arlecchino color - click for larger view
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If you want to start the juices flowing amongst glass collectors, bring up
the argument surrounding the Pezzati color combinations. Here is a description of
names and colors:
Arlecchino: occasional white or opaque green and red patches
Parigi (Paris): red, green, blue and clear
Americano: green, eggplant (appears black), yellow, clear
[Variation] Americano: blue, eggplant (appears black), yellow, clear
Stockholm: rose (pink), aquamarine (blue), grape (deep purple- appears almost black) mole gray
Venezia: rose (pink), aquamarine (blue), mole gray, clear (a lighter version of Stockholm)
Istanbul: yellow, purple, dark gray and clear
[Variation] Istanbul: rose, eggplant, yellow, purple, dark gray and clear
Asia: dark purple (appears black) turquoise, mole gray, clear
We have seen them all, and let me tell you for the record what else is out
there. Recently we saw the spectacular Olnick Spanu Collection in New
York. They have a vase which is similar to the Americano combination but the
green squares are blue! They have an Istanbul vase with rose and black
patches. We have two vases sold as Stockholm which are more likely Venezia
which is a lighter variation with clear instead of black! We have recent
correspondence with the Venini factory stating that there is also:
Bagdad: sapphire, tea, pale straw
Oslo: pale sapphire, light green, pale straw
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Some of these colors are shown in the photos below. Click each image to see a larger photo:
So, then what's up with the late 60's Pezzato from Germany (recently sold on ebay) in red,
blue, light green and light maroon? Be warned that there are many incorrect
identifications of colors in auction catalogs and on Ebay.
THE GOLDEN AGE: 1948 to 1967
The "golden age" of Venini lasted until approximately 1967, ending with
Bianconi's Sasso series. When Paolo Venini died in 1959, much of the
vitality was lost. The Venini company continued to develop new designs under
the direction of Ludovico de Santillana. Architect Tobia Scarpa (son of
Carlo) designed the wonderful Occhi series in 1960.
Venini "Occhi" vase by Tobia Scarpa - click for larger view
The American fiber
artist, Thomas Sterns, produced some highly collectable designs including
the Doges Hat. Venini continues to produce quality pieces and recently was
sold to the company that owns Georg Jensen jewelry and Orrefors glass.
Venini vase by Thomas Stearns - click for larger view
In
terms of pricing and collectabilty, the period from 1948-1967 is the most
desirable in post-war Italian glass. Although many of the 1950's models are
still being produced or reintroduced, they are replicas of the pieces that
are collectable and should not be confused with the originals in terms of
pricing or desirability as an investment (ebay'rs beware!)
SIGNATURES
Venini glass up to 1966, featured an acid stamped signature on the bottom
center which usually reads "venini murano ITALIA" on three lines or a two
line circle sometimes with "Italy" in the middle.
The interim between 1966
and 1970 used a diamond point engraved "venini italia" signature.
Occhi vase signature, 1966-1970
After 1970
will have a vibro-engraved signature of "venini italia" in script along the
bottom edge with a year such as 83 or 96 for example.
For paper label
identification, which is tricky as they can fall off as easily as they are
stuck on, read Marc Heiremans seminal book Art Glass from Murano ISBN
3-925369-22-8.
These signatures can be polished off to give the appearance of older
merchandise. There are also fake acid stamps on glass in the market place.
If you are serious about collecting, accurate information is available from
the Vetri Italian Glass News PO Box 191 Fort Lee, NJ 07024. There is also a
eye-opening video tape from the Corning Glass Museum symposium held in 1997
with Helmut Ricke showing many copies and fakes.
TODAY'S MARKET
In June of 2000 Christie's New York held an auction of 20th century
"Masterworks", one of a kind objects of Modern design, including a Le
Corbusier chaise lounge, a Rietveld Zig Zag chair, a Raymond Loewy metal
pencil sharpener, a Perriand Biblioteque shelf, a wooden Volkswagen Beetle
prototype, a set of Eames DCMs and Philip Johnson's Rockefeller guest house.
Included in this sale was a Pezzato #4319 vase. It sold for $17,625.
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For more information, please visit www.italian-glass.net
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