Vase in “Dama” murrine glass, model no. 3579

Renowned for both recruiting emerging artists with the greatest talent and working with the best designers, Paolo Venini often turned his hand to the glassmaker’s art glass himself. His most successful works were vases in murrine glass illustrated for the first time in 1953 in Domus magazine and officially presented at the 1954 Venice Biennale.

Vases in this series are simple in form and consist of minute multihued murrine rods set in a uniform pattern whose edges tend to fade together into a continuum. The murrine rods were given the names dama, mezzaluna, puntini, pavone depending on the type of design. This limited series of difficult execution is considered one of the most refined examples of Venini production during the 50s.

Bibliography

Marino Barovier, Carla Sonego (editor), Paolo Venini and his Furnace, Skira - Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Milan - Venice 2016, exhibition catalogue (Venice, Le Stanze del Vetro, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, September 11, 2016 – January 8 2017), page 164.