sculpture

Object NameSculptural Vessel

Designer Umberto Bellotto (Italian, 1882-1940)

Manufacturer Artisti Barovier (Italian, 1911-1920)

Made FromGlass, Wrought iron

Dateabout 1914-1920

TechniqueBlown, pick-up decoration, wrought iron, assembled

SizeOverall H: 65.6 cm, W: 27.2 cm; Base Diam: 23.4 cm

Accession Number95.3.36

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

Exhibitions

The Fragile Art: Extraordinary Objects from The Corning Museum of Glass

Umberto Bellotto 1882-1940: Ricami in Ferro e Vetro

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

In the early 1900s, the Venetian designer Umberto Bellotto established a studio for artistic ironworking, and he was awarded a "patent" for his marriage of iron and glass in 1910. This one-of-a-kind sculpture, in the form of a glass "blossom" supported by a foliate stem, is typical of Bellotto's limited production. The work is characteristic of the stile floreale, or stile Liberty, as the Art Nouveau style was known in Italy. Founded in 1878, the Artisti Barovier glassworks remains in business today as Barovier and Toso. In the early 1900s, the Venetian designer Umberto Bellotto (1882’1940) established a workshop for artistic ironworking, where he produced elaborate grillwork and gates. He was awarded a patent for his “marriage” of iron and glass in 1910. This one-of-a-kind vessel, in the form of a glass “blossom” supported by a foliate wrought-iron stem, is typical of Bellotto’s limited artistic production. The metal was forged in his shop, while the glass, decorated with pieces of mosaic glass canes and irregular shards of color, was made by Artisti Barovier. This Muranese firm was noted for its designs in murrine (mosaic glass). Working with blown glass stimulated Bellotto’s interest in the material, and by the 1920s he was creating designs for Venice’s Pauly & C. The organic, flowerlike concept of this sculptural vessel is characteristic of the stile floreale, or stile Liberty, the Italian interpretation of Art Nouveau.

Place Made

Italy, Venice, Murano

Physical DescriptionColorless with transparent yellow/amber, green, red, amethyst glasses, black wrought iron; blown, picked-up murrine cane slices and shards, fabricated metal, assembled. Tall sculpture suggesting the appearance of a footed floral goblet; wrought iron stem and base in the form of a branch cradles suspended glass bowl in four leaf prongs; (a) almost spherical bowl with wide opening edged with a broad applied band of dark that tapers slightly inward; one side of body wall decorated with adjoining irregular, sometimes broken, circles varying in size of dark amethyst, the circles enclose smaller blown out cane slices of red with amber accents, as the circles near the pontil they enclose scattered green leaf cane slices, opposite are four large lobed flower blossoms formed of blown out yellow cane slices or shards with green leaf skeleton interiors, one flower has a long dark stem that extends over base and turns back on itself at the pontil, a large irregular patch of blue connects the group of three flowers; overall bubbles that are somewhat regular in size and in placement; narrow rough pontil; glass is supported and held in place by (b) tall wrought iron stem and base with hammered surface, narrow straight stem in the form of an uneven "Y-shaped" branch, the long end of the branch ends in a joint of two stacked squares, from these extend three small tapered leaves with overall surface of short parallel lines, one large three-lobed leaf with serrated edges also emerges from the joint as do two short stems, each stem ends in another joint formed of a stacked pair of rings, from each joint extend two large long pointed leaves which reach up and twist to enclose and hold the bowl, the short bare branch of the "Y" stem breaks into a "U", main stem extends through a conical joint and connects to a wide hollow conical iron base in the form of overlapping petals or scales with overall mottled surface, elements form a scalloped exterior edge; unsigned.
Provenance

Provenance Remark

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