bowl

Object NameShell-Shaped Bowl

Maker Napoleone Martinuzzi (Italian, 1892-1977)

Maker Venini Glassworks

Made FromNon-lead glass, Adhesive

Dateabout 1930

Place MadeItaly, Venice, Murano

TechniqueBlown, hot-worked

SizeOverall H: 5.8 cm, W: 10.7 cm, D: 10.2 cm

Accession Number96.3.20 H

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

On ViewModern Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

The thick and soft pulegoso (bubbled) glass used for the pieces of this garniture was developed by Martinuzzi, who was inspired by the weathered surfaces of ancient Roman glass. The “coral” is made of pasta vitrea, a thick, opaque, pasta-like glass that Martinuzzi developed for its sculptural qualities.

Physical DescriptionColorless, transparent aqua, opaque red-orange non-lead glasses, adhesive; blown, hot-worked. Nine piece table set (garniture): five of the pieces consist of short columns of bubbly ("pulegoso") aqua glass cased in colorless with raised spiral wraps, ends of columns are capped with colorless wraps or patties, then a larger patty with flattened edge at the base, each of the two shortest stems are also topped with a thinly-blown, stepped, bell-shaped, colorless cup connected to the column with a short, knop stem and flared foot, placed inside of each cup is a taller, narrower cylindrical colorless candle holder tapering in slightly toward flat base, all rims are fire-polished; three other colums (two are slightly larger than candlestick columns and the third is the tallest with a slightly larger diameter) each topped by a colorless hemispherical cup (thicker than the candlestick cups) with firepolished rim joined to the colun with a thick patty, adhered at the inside center of each hemisphere is the base of a vertical solid hot-worked realistic branch of red coral with multiple snipped ends (the tallest column supports the tallest branch); all columns have rough pontils; four coquille shell dishes of bubbly aqua glass cased in colorless tooled with raised parallel ridges on all surfaces, back points are pulled and curled upward; narrow base areas ground and polished flat; acid stamped on the base of each piece: "(script) Venini/(block) Murano".
Provenance

Former Collection Dr. Richard Warren Levy - 1996-07-16

Former Collection Susan Levy - 1996-07-16